A high-powered consortium between Phase 1 Experiences and Embassy Group will create a never-seen-before, experiential and entertainment destination at the BLR Airport. The world’s leading live entertainment company – Live Nation – will act as consultant to the consortium on the development of the project. Music entrepreneur and festival curator – Nikhil Chinapa – will take on his role as strategy and communications lead. The consortium, formed by Oum Pradutt, Founder and Managing Director of Phase 1 Experiences and Aditya Virwani, Chief Operating Officer of Embassy Group, will take on the massive project after having been awarded the tender, floated by BIAL to develop the arena. The development occurs at a time when the live events and entertainment industry is expected to double in growth from Rs. 5,631 Cr in 2016-17 to more than Rs. 10,000 Cr in 2020-21 (Source: EY – EEMA Report, 2017).
“BIAL is pleased to announce the partnership with two market leaders in their respective areas of expertise. This is a significant stepping stone towards making the BLR Airport a hub of entertainment, not just for Bengaluru, but for the entire Country. This arena would be a first-of-its-kind to be created at an airport and the first multi-purpose venue in India to host events and other activity. This brings to life a new facet in BIAL’s commitment to offer unparalleled services to passengers and visitors, alike,” said Mr. Rao Munukutla, Chief Real Estate Officer, BIAL.
Phase 1 Experiences is India’s most disruptive experiential organisation, with 24 years of experience in creating large-scale events globally and in India. Having successfully established four verticals across special projects, MICE, corporate and youth events, Phase 1 has forayed into the ownership, development and management of world-class entertainment arenas along with curation of content.
Oum Pradutt, Founder & Managing Director, Phase 1 Experiences believes that the entertainment arena at BLR Airport would be the pinnacle of live entertainment in India: “Our vision is to radically enhance the live experience quotient of the Indian consumer. Just like multiplexes transformed the cinematic experience and 5G is about to reshape the digital experience, we aim to take the live entertainment experience to the next level in India. The venue will be at par with iconic international concert arenas such as New York’s Madison Square Garden and London’s O2 Arena, enabling us to import the biggest shows and best of global talent to India. This will attract audiences and fans from not just across India, but across South Asia, and establish Bengaluru’s position as a live concert and entertainment capital – globally.”
Embassy Group is India’s leading real-estate and urban infrastructure developer with over 3 decades of experience in commercial, residential, industrial, warehousing, hospitality, education and retail spaces, and will build the end-to-end infrastructure of the venue. Aditya Virwani, Chief Operating Officer, Embassy Group speaks about the association with the consortium and the venue: “We, at Embassy, are very excited about the entertainment venue at the BLR Airport. Way back in 1995, we started buying land in North Bengaluru as we could foresee the potential of this region for future exponential growth. We pioneered a new reformation in Bengaluru with Commercial and Residential projects in North Bengaluru. We are happy to have contributed to defining the skyline of Bengaluru, with our niche and curated offerings in this area. The first-of-its-kind, international arena at BLR Airport is in line with our vision to give back to the city of Bengaluru. The venue will place the City on the global map as a destination for prestigious events. Embassy’s development expertise in building world-class assets, and the synergies of our partnership with BIAL and Phase 1 will bring about an iconic project.”
Bringing its global perspective and expertise to the homegrown Bengaluru brands is Live Nation, the world’s largest live entertainment company that owns and operates more than 200 entertainment arenas across the world. The renowned global company, headquartered in Los Angeles, USA, will manage both the mobilisation of the venue and the programming of international artists.
Paul Antonio, President, Asia and the Middle East, Live Nation commented on the partnership: “We’re pleased to be able to contribute to the establishment of this world-class venue, both in terms of supporting the mobilisation and subsequently the programming of international artists. The venue will be a state-of-the-art, must-play arena and we look forward to bringing our touring artists and live events here as soon as the doors open, and for years to come.”
With consolidated expertise in the live entertainment, real-estate and venue operating space, the three pioneers are ready to bring the world of entertainment to India. In addition, the Consortium has collaborated with Nikhil Chinapa, to be the venue’s cultural pivot: “I’m thrilled to see that Bengaluru is finally going to have a world-class arena at the BLR Airport. The airport itself is metamorphosing into a hub of activity and with the advent of the metro, ample parking for cars and easy connectivity into the North of Bengaluru and beyond, the concert venue is going to become an epicentre for the arts, entertainment and culture for the city of Bengaluru. I’m personally looking forward to working on the venue’s communication, strategy and content and will be engaging with partners both globally and across India to ensure an annual calendar packed with a variety of events for various communities across the arts with a special focus on music.”
