LOVE SUPREME
Supreme moves Neapolitan Music’s Love Supreme increased capacity from 20,000 to 25,000, resulting in an expansion of the festival site
L
ove Supreme festival has grown in stature since it bounced onto the festival market in 2013. It has a loyal following; a discerning and returning audience of “real music fans” that value quality and have a certain level of expectation in terms of production. That’s why Mandy Johnson, U-Live’s head of operations, and Love Supreme’s head of production, has spent hours cherry picking kit that will work with the festival’s branding and colour palette. She is trying to raise the bar and come back with a bang, following the festival’s two-year hiatus. Johnson is talking to StandOut just days before gates open on the three-day jazz, funk, and soul festival. She’s “in the thick of it”. It’s raining but she is hard at work, perfecting the new site, which has an increased footprint (35 per cent larger) to accommodate an extra
“We’ve done a land grab,” Johnson continues. “The shape of the arena is the same but if you look at the GPS points, the stages and bars are not exactly in the same place but to our customers, it will feel familiar.”
ACHIEVING A BALANCE
5,000 guests and a huge glamping requirement. “Love Supreme is an intimate show,” Johnson says. “People like it. We attract experienced festivalgoers. Some other festivals sell themselves on the idea of exploration and that’s part of the festival experience and is critical to those kinds of events. Our customers like the
intimacy and accessibility of the site and that’s been a huge success factor for us.” Johnson has had to bear this in mind as the festival site has been developed to accommodate the increase in capacity. Love Supreme – owned by Neapolitan Music – has had to consider this point as it has grown.
Love Supreme 2022 benefits from a second Supremium glamping area – South Supremium now complements North Supremium. It houses 500 extra glamping tents, and the new area has direct access to Love Supreme’s main arena and South Downs stage. “I’m excited to see this work,” explains Johnson. “It’s been good to see demand for glamping go up so that we can introduce it. Plus, we’ve also been able to introduce more early morning wellbeing content. Before, we had yoga but now we have more of a programme.”
wwww.eventbuyerslive.com n 39
