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The inaugural Untappd Beer Festival has been called the “Fyre festival of beer events” by irate attendees who took to social media to vent their anger…But now the organization has hired a MGM Resorts professional to ensure that things go smoother this time around.
Untappd, the popular social media app for beer and breweries, has announced the second annual Untappd Beer Festival, will be returning to Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina on Saturday, May 16, 2020.
2019’s festival, which drew an estimated 12,500 attendees and featured 176 of the nation’s best breweries, was by many accounts a disorganized disaster where VIP attendees paid $200 for five hours of beer sampling, exclusive beer pours and food pairings, a special meet & greet with Untappd co-founder/CTO Greg Avola, only to be confronted by endless lines.
But that was just the begining of the festival’s problems…
Popular breweries like Brooklyn’s Other Half Brewing, weren’t ready to serve Early Admission and VIP ticket holders when the doors opened.
There was also a lighting storm that lead to crowds being herded off the field to wait out the rain in the concrete arena concourse, away from the beer serving stations.
There were reports of rude security personnel.
Beer glass shortages plagued the afternoon into evening event that was extended to 9pm due to rain delays.
In fact the souvenir sampling glasses that were promised weren’t glasses at all… but rather thin grade plastic cups that tore easily. The Charlotte Agenda reported that “only 15,000 cups were ordered, so as these broke, Untappd had to scramble to come up with other cups.”
Understandably all these incidents led to a social media tsunami… Twitter was flooded with so many complaints that the topic was trending across the US…
“Wow won’t let people inside and charged 60 a ticket,”. Wow, 1 line to get in. 20k people in line,” a festivalgoer with the complained. “This may be the worst event I ever came to. Such a letdown.” Twitter@StingyLife
In response to feedback following Untappd’s inaugural Beer Festival in 2019, the company has hired Talia Spera as Untappd’s Director of Festivals and Live Events.
Spera joins from MGM Resorts International where she served as Executive Director of Entertainment at MGM Springfield. Spera’s top priorities in her new role include strategic oversight for the company’s Untappd Live! Division, as well as addressing the operational difficulties Untappd faced during its inaugural event to elevate the festival to a world-class experience for the Untappd community to enjoy.
“We learned a lot from listening to attendees and brewers after last year’s festival and the path to creating an event that meets our own and our attendees’ expectations was clear,” said Trace Smith, President and COO of Untappd. “Talia brings a wealth of live events expertise to Untappd. She and her team have been diligent in addressing all shortcomings from last year’s festival. We’re confident we’ll produce a world class experience for all involved.”
Under Spera’s leadership, Untappd will also host additional US and European festivals in 2020, with dates and locations to be announced in the spring.
Pre- sale tickets to the Charlotte, North Carolina beer festival will be available on Ticketmaster.com to Untappd Supporters beginning on Wednesday, January 29th. Those interested in purchasing tickets online via the public sale beginning on Friday, January 31 can find additional info at untappdfestival.com.
