Nesco Events’ Kumar Razdan Shares Insights On 2024 Event Trends

With the new year mood setting in, companies and brands are all prepped to ring in the new year with a fresh set of opportunities. In hindsight, Nesco Events had successfully hosted a series of high-profile gatherings, including ‘It's a Holi Thing-King’, MC Stan's Mumbai concert debut, Kula fest, India's Biggest Pet Festival - Pet Fed, the India Auto Show, and Rangilo Re - India's largest indoor Dandiya Festival, in 2023. It also hosted Lucky Ali's first-ever indoor concert, and drew in substantial crowds for the same.

In an exclusive discussion with Everything Experiential, Kumar Razdan, Vice President, Nesco Events delves into the innovative event technologies and trends that are anticipated to dominate the landscape in 2024, Nesco’s plan to enhance attendee experiences in the new year, addressing the challenges that are expected to spring up, and more.

Edited excerpts:

What innovative event technologies and trends do you anticipate dominating the landscape in 2024, and how will Nesco incorporate them into its events?

Event technology is constantly evolving and transforming the way we plan, execute, and experience events. Based on my experience & the trends here are some of the innovative event technologies and trends that I anticipate dominating the landscape in 2024:

• AI and personalization: Artificial intelligence (AI) can help event organisers create more personalised and relevant experiences for their attendees, by analysing data, providing recommendations, and also enhance the interaction and networking among artist, attendees, speakers, and sponsors, by matching them based on their interests and preferences. Lots of this is already taking place in more evolved markets like the US and Europe.
• Sustainability and social impact: Event organisers and attendees are becoming more conscious of the environmental and social impact of their events, and are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint, waste, and resource consumption. Event technology can help them achieve their sustainability and social impact goals, by providing tools for measuring, reporting, and offsetting their emissions, as well as facilitating donations, volunteering, and advocacy. New age event organisers are very mindful about this & are pushing the envelope for the whole event industry.
• Immersive and gamified experiences: Event technology can also help create more immersive and gamified experiences for attendees, by using virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and 3D technology. These technologies can enhance the visual and sensory aspects of events, and make them more interactive and engaging. They can also create opportunities for fun, competition, and collaboration among attendees, speakers, and sponsors. These are imperative for overall growth of events in India as overall demographics of consumers is events are gen X, Z and very soon Gen alpha.

How does Nesco plan to enhance attendee experiences in 2024, considering the evolving expectations and preferences of event participants?

Improving the experience of your event attendees and visitors is a key factor for the success of our business. Whether it is the events that people come to attend or the facility that we offer to the organisers, we need to be able to create a WOW factor in both the situations. Here are few examples of what we intend to do in 2024 to enhance the overall experience of the attendees:

• Use event technology at various consumer touch points to streamline and enhance their event journey.  Starting right from discovering the events and buying then securely online and then managing the paperless entry at our events. Coming this year, we will also be offering attendees to buy their parking spots online along with their tickets much in advance. Later this year we would also start online food sales for all the events. That way people can enjoy the event and not worry about long queues at F&B counters.

At Nesco, we believe in putting ‘Customer First’ and the entire planning is based on keeping the customer in mind first.

In the wake of global changes, how will Nesco adapt its event strategies to address new challenges and opportunities in 2024?

Nesco has been a city landmark for more than five decades now. It has seen the city change and evolve over a long period of time. At Nesco we believe in moving ahead with the times and that is one of the main reason we have been able to hold the leadership position in terms of being the leading venue in the city for more than 25 years now and handling million plus visitors annually. Now that Nesco through its events vertical is also organising the events we intend to use jointly my 15 years in live entertainment and Nesco’s 25 years of experience as a facility to create unforgettable experiences for our event attendees. Our flagship IP Rangilo Re 2023 showcased our prowess as organisers and planners. We hope to continue to repeat the same for all our events.

What key industry partnerships and collaborations is Nesco exploring to enhance the quality and reach of its events in the coming year?

I am of the opinion that key partnerships and anchor partners would pave the way for a successfully and profitable events business. Each partner brings in a set of expertise and compliment exact other. We recently embarked on a journey with Farmhouse Music (Lucky Ali’s company) for a concert of his and the show was a runaway success. Seeing the success of this association we have now decided to produce 3-4 more shows in this year. We will similarly identify likeminded partners and work jointly to create top notch content and experiences.

What steps is Nesco taking to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion in its events, ensuring representation and participation from a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives in 2024?

Nesco is actively fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in its events by implementing various strategies. This includes showcasing diverse performers and speakers, collaborating with local communities, and engaging with organizations specializing in DEI initiatives. Inclusive marketing campaigns, accessible event accommodations, and partnerships with diverse vendors contribute to a more inclusive atmosphere.

At Nesco, our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion goes beyond regular live concerts. We proudly host events like Kula, representing the tattoo community, creating opportunities to connect with audiences from diverse backgrounds. These initiatives underscore our dedication to fostering an inclusive environment within our events.