MAD//Fest London is to get a summer makeover in 2021, transforming an east London car park into a canopied, vibrant alfresco VIP festival for 4,000+ industry leaders on 7-8 July. 

The July date is a move from MAD//Fest’s usual November timing due to demand for a UK summer festival to look forward to and the opportunity to create a unique festival experience.

The new-look festival will feature five stages hosting CMOs from top global brands, renowned futurists and entrepreneurs tackling 2021’s ‘Where Do We Go From Here?’ theme. 

For the first time, MAD//Fest will feature a dedicated creative stage, as well as topic-themed streams covering emerging technology, media and tech, and brand and customer experience.

Festival goers will also get to see multiple live innovation pitches via PITCH//IT, a platform where tech firms will have the chance to answer real briefs from the world’s top brands and secure £20k pilots. 

MAD//Fest has increased the number of PITCH//IT briefs due to the popularity of this initiative at its physical and virtual events. Last month, the MAD//Anywhere virtual event featured a digital brand experience brief from Diageo and McCormick’s personalisation at scale pitch.

The scaled up MAD//Fest London summer event has a capacity in excess of 4,000 live attendees. However, marketers across the globe will also be able to tune-in and watch all of the action with a virtual ticket.

The combination of an in-person festival and live streamed event will make 2021’s MAD//Fest London the first truly hybrid edition.

Following recent vaccine developments, seasonal COVID-19 patterns and UK government legislation that permits larger audiences for well-ventilated outdoor events, MAD//Fest will be able to scale up the size of next year’s event and ‘festivalise’ through experiences and brand partnerships. 

MAD//Fest will use the summer switch for MAD//Fest London to allow for a November US launch with a hybrid format.

“The summer switch for MAD//Fest is huge and has been incredibly well received by brands, the big tech platforms, madtech players, agencies and start-ups. Industry leaders have been crying out for a fun, vibrant and distinctive London-based summer festival that brings together marketing, media, tech and creative leaders. Here it is,” said Ian Houghton, MAD//Fest London’s Co-founder and Commercial Director.

“2020 was a challenging year for anyone in the events industry. MAD//Fest adapted quickly with innovative digital formats such as MAD//Anywhere, MAD//Fest x DMEXCO@home and the 99//Club Digital Festival with New Digital Age. Going forward, these digital lessons will shape the future of the business,  the MAD//Fest brand and our event experience.

“Now that there is vaccine optimism and palpable excitement about the return of physical events, we can now focus on what we do best – launching bold, creative and distinctive MAD//Fest events that challenge the idea of what an industry event can do,” he added.

Contact ian@madfestlondon.com to find out about sponsorship and exhibition opportunities.

A limited amount of preview rate live and virtual tickets for MAD//Fest London are available now.

MAD//Fest is hiring! Get in touch to find out about opportunities to join our commercial team.