AN INTERVIEW TO LUCA MONTEBUGNOLI, CHARMAIN OF VIVATICKET

After two years of restrictions, there is a great desire to restart experience emotions, all together. “And it is a desire that, from our observatory, we are able to ‘feel’ perfectly”, explains Luca Montebugnoli, founder and Charmain of Vivaticket, one of the main international operators in the management of services for live entertainment, culture and sport, from ticketing to access control services. Vivaticket, headquartered in Bologna, is present in more than 50 countries around the world with about twenty operational offices: its activity allows us to understand how much the live entertainment and cultural offer sector has suffered from closures and uncertainties.
– Mr. Montebugnoli, has the pandemic hit hard?
“Yes, in these two years, globally, the market has seen a 70% drop in revenues, especially for live events, major tradeshows, and sporting events. They managed to survive small niche events, with limited numbers, which were able to withstand the impact of prescriptions, such as the obligation to keep distance among people ”.
– And in Italy?
“Theatrical activities were the most penalized, with a reduction of up to 70%, and in the same way there was a very strong reduction in the exhibition sector and in sport. Things went a little better, especially in summer, for amusement parks and theme parks such as aquariums “.
– And the culture sector?
“The signs of greater liveliness have come from museums and exhibitions: when it was possible to reopen, thanks to the accesses staggered by time slots and with a maximum number of visitors, there was a prompt recovery”.
– What is still keeping viewers ‘held back’?
“The psychological effect that was generated by the long closures of the venues. The idea was created that they are unsafe places, when instead, with all the prevention measures that have been introduced, they are among the safest places to visit. There is no evidence of outbreaks born in theaters, but also in stadiums or parks. So now the first enemy to defeat is fear ”.
– But do you want to go back?
“Absolutely yes, and numbers say so: last year, between closures, postponed tours or canceled shows, we sold exactly half of the tickets compared to 2019, the last pre-Covid year. Yet last September, when a window of trust had opened, about ten million tickets were purchased on our platforms in just one month in Italy alone. It was for us the absolute record month in 22 years of activity. In March 2020, during the first lockdown, we had managed to sell just 12 tickets in a whole day, while last September we reached 2375 thousand a day: we interpreted it as a sense of ‘liberation’ after the great frost “.
– How’s it going now?
“With the new restrictions of autumn and winter, pre-sales have stopped again: since the last ten days of January, however, we have begun to see excitement again. I believe that now, even on the part of the government authorities, important choices are necessary “.
– Or?
“That, thanks to vaccines and all precautions, we have the courage to be able to consider Covid as a disease we can live with. I live in the United States and here the events have resumed completely, because it has been understood that the tools exist to effectively deal with the disease. After all, none of us, before Covid, has ever given up going to a concert for fear of catching the flu. And this, for all of us, is the real challenge “.

Worldwide Vivaticket manages the ticketing services of some of the most famous and popular venues, from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, from Disney parks to most of the theaters in London’s West End or at Expo 2020 in Dubai. In a few weeks, the huge Coliseo Live in Bogotà in Colombia, the largest show arena in Latin America, with a capacity of 24 thousand seats, will also be added to the Vivaticket ‘family’. In Italy, the company also took care of all ticketing and access control services for Vasco Rossi’s “Modena Park”, 225,000 tickets sold, a record for a single day concert. In 2020, the pandemic caused a 45% drop in the company’s Italian turnover, from 62 million and 500 thousand euros in 2019 to around 37 million. “And in the face of 25 million lost, we received just 150 thousand euros as state aids, no advantage from a fiscal point of view, no deferral – underlines the president Montebugnoli -. Our sector has been totally neglected ”. In Italy Vivaticket did not resort to layoffs, accessing the redundancy fund: in other countries, employees accepted reductions in remuneration and the use of smart working.

“Even during the closures, we continued to invest in the evolution of ticketing and access control systems: for example, today it would be possible to integrate the green pass in a ticket for a show, so as to reduce times and queues at the entrance – continues Luca Montebugnoli -. Despite this in Italy we didn’t get access to the contributions for research and development that have instead been recognized in other countries “. For Vivaticket, 2021 closed with some signs of recovery, and the Italian turnover of the group has returned to exceed 40 million: the outlook for 2022 is to get closer to 2019 levels. The president is confident: “I believe that by now let’s be clear: it is possible to leave in complete safety and there is nothing more beautiful than being able to share the emotion of a show or a sport event ‘live’ – he says -. My dream, now, is called ‘Broadway Italia’, that is to be able to bring a series of great international musicals to our country. And I really hope to turn the limelight back on”.

by Stefano Marchetti