When Sh*t Goes Wrong At Events

This week Freddie Sparrow sits down with Neil Bainbridge — the founder of Neighbourhood and the driving force behind Newcastle clubbing institution Shindig Events — for one of the most candid conversations we've had on the show. Neil doesn't hold back. A flooded city centre site that nearly wiped out the business. A warehouse roof that peeled clean off the night of an event. And a property...

A brand-new episode of WHEN SH*T GOES WRONG AT EVENTS is live, and this week Freddie Sparrow is joined by Nick Morgan, Founder and CEO of WeGroup, the UK’s largest independent festival producer. From losing huge sums as a promoter to building one of the UK’s best-known independent event operations businesses, Nick shares an honest account of how failure, resilience, and experience shaped his journ...

Episode 22 - Live at AIF Festival Congress with Millie Devereux and Jamie Tagg. Welcome to Series 3 of When Sh*t Goes Wrong at Events - the podcast giving listeners a backstage pass to the often unheard stories of event organising. In this episode, host Freddie Sparrow sits down with Millie Devereux from We Group and Jamie Tagg from Mighty Hoopla, live at the AIF Festival Congress and in front of...

Welcome to Series 3 of When Sh*t Goes Wrong at Events - the podcast giving listeners a backstage pass to the often unheard stories of event organising. In this episode, host Freddie Sparrow sits down with Duncan King , Head of Partnerships at Skiddle , whose career spans DJing, promoting, artist management, and working at the heart of the UK ticketing industry. From the EDM boom of the mid-2000s t...

Welcome to Series 3 of When Sh*t Goes Wrong at Events - the podcast giving listeners a backstage pass to the often unheard stories of event organising. In this episode, host Freddie Sparrow sits down with Joe Heap , Towersey and Found festival organiser and university lecturer, whose family has been running festivals for generations. From the emotional farewell to the 60-year-old Towersey Festival...

Welcome to Series 3 of When Sh*t Goes Wrong at Events - the podcast giving listeners a backstage pass to the often unheard stories of event organising. In this episode, host Freddie Sparrow sits down with Nick Steiert, events entrepreneur and founder behind student travel brand Invasion Events and Wellnergy festival. From running university events to choosing startups over a legal career, Nick sha...

Welcome to Series 3 of When Sh*t Goes Wrong at Events - the podcast giving listeners a backstage pass to the often unheard stories of event organising. In this episode, host Freddie Sparrow sits down with Chris Carter, Founder and CEO of Eventwise, to unpack the financial realities of running live events. From promoting student club nights in Bristol to working across the festival supply chain, Ch...

Welcome to Series 3 of When Shit Goes Wrong at Events - the podcast giving listeners a backstage pass to the often unheard stories of event organising. In this episode, Freddie Sparrow chats with John Rostron, CEO of the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), about a career shaped by a love of music, early chaos, and lessons learned the hard way. From losing money on first events to championi...

Welcome to Season 2 of When Sh*t Goes Wrong at Events - the podcast where we give a backstage pass to the often unheard stories of event organising. In this episode, we speak with Craig Mathie, Managing Director of Project 30, about what it was really like to run a festival company through and after the pandemic. Endless cancellations, what it was like launching a business in the wash-out summer o...

Welcome to Season 2 of When Sh*t Goes Wrong at Events - the podcast where we give a backstage pass to the often unheard stories of event organising. This episode we sit down with Olly, Director of Acumen Safety, to talk about all things event safety, training, and crisis management in the live events industry. With years of experience helping organisers prepare for the unexpected, Olly shares insi...

Welcome to Season 2 of When Sh*t Goes Wrong at Events - the podcast where we give a backstage pass to the often unheard stories of event organising. In this episode, we sit down with Hannah Eakins, CEO of Production Futures, to talk about how Production Futures began, the challenges of launching new events, and what it really takes to help people of all ages break into production roles.  Hannah sh...

Welcome to Season 2 of When Sh*t Goes Wrong at Events - the podcast where we give a backstage pass to the often unheard stories of event organising. In this episode, we sit down with Jack Saward, Founder of Saward Marketing & Events. He 's a seasoned event manager, with decades of experiences, and with stories that define the phrase “the show must go on.” From battling the Icelandic dust cloud...

Welcome to Season 2 of When Sh*t Goes Wrong at Events - the podcast where we give a backstage pass to the often unheard stories of event organising. This week’s guest is Cat Kevern, Director of B2B Events Marketing Agency Electric Cat as well as NOWIE - Network of Women in Events. She shares one unforgettable story from early in her career, all about a time working in accommodation management for...

Welcome to Season 2 of When Sh*t Goes Wrong at Events - the podcast where we give a backstage pass to the often unheard stories of event organising. In this episode we sit down with Dean Rodgers, Creative Director of Secret Cinema. Dean shares the madness of building immersive worlds before it was mainstream. Along the way, he explains why the unpredictability of live events is so addictive, what...

This week we’re joined by Justin, Founder of The Bug Club - the sustainable VW DJ Van suppliers, but naturally as an event supplier - he's seen some things. From a dramatic power cut at Wembley Fanzone in front of thousands of football fans, to an insurance nightmare (should have insured with Vento!) caused by an incorrectly ticked box that led to tens of thousands in losses, and a cursed van that...

Welcome to Season 2 of When Sh*t Goes Wrong at Events - the podcast where we give a backstage pass to the often unheard stories of event organising. In this episode, we sit down with Beverley Whitrick, COO at Music Venue Trust, to explore the realities of running live music events and keeping grassroots venues alive.  From her first steps into events to local authority run-ins and transport chaos,...

In this conversation, Freddie speaks to Joe Worley about his experiences running Westival, a Welsh boutique music festival based in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Joe has worked tirelessly to create an inclusive, intimate festival that combines world-class music with a really great energy. It doesn't get harder than running a camping festival in the middle of nowhere, in terms of marketing, operations etc....

Picture this: 3,000 people, no security guards, no medical team, and bus drivers who are asleep. Then add some angry police officers and a frustrated council into the mix. What could possibly go wrong?! In the latest episode of 𝑾𝑯𝑬𝑵 𝑺𝑯*𝑻 𝑮𝑶𝑬𝑺 𝑾𝑹𝑶𝑵𝑮 𝑨𝑻 𝑬𝑽𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑺 (out now!), Toby Mullins , CEO of Curate Group UK , shares his journey from his slightly chaotic early days in events to now successfully run...

In this conversation, Freddie takes a deep dive into the life of a fellow co-founder in the events industry. The Marble Group focusses on strategy, marketing, experience and creative to B2B brands and agencies and Emi has been instrumental in it's growth and success over the years, but that hasn't come easy! Hear Emi talk about the highs and lows of event organising in her time at The Marb...

In this episode, Freddie talks through the highs and lows of event promoting with friend and fellow Music Promoter, Fred Letts. From balancing family life, to the nitty gritty behind the scenes of festivals and music shows, this episode is eye opening and a really down to earth conversation about the reality of the job.

Described by Vogue as "unquestionably one of the most glamorous places to stay in the UK", Camp Kerala (and it's story) really is astonishing. In the latest episode of the podcast "WHEN SH*T GOES WRONG AT EVENTS", Freddie had the pleasure of speaking with the Jen Oldland, it's inspirational founder. As you will find out, the journey has not been all glitz!! She was a cr...

GALA Festival now welcomes 35,000+ people over 3 days in Peckham and is one of London's biggest and most successful music festivals. But it did not start like that! In this episode, one of its founders Jonny Edwards really opens up about: - building a music festival with the stature of GALA - the highs and lows of music festival promoting - the lowest moment of his career (year 1 GALA); it was...

Today Zebu Live, the biggest Web3 Conference in London is being run by Harry and the Flight 3 team. Harry and Freddie started a festival in Exeter - and have been friends since. Listen to Harry's insights and learnings from his experience running events in this, our first episode of When Sh*t Goes Wrong At Events!