O2 announce title sponsorship of the Wireless Festival 2008

O2 has announced it is the title sponsor of the Wireless Festival 2008 for the fourth consecutive year. The sponsorship follows the success of last year’s event – produced by Live Nation – which was the most successful in its history. With a line-up of international artists set to take to the stage across the festival’s four July dates, the O2 Wireless Festival provides the ideal setting for O2 to engage directly with its customers and support emerging music artists on the O2 blueroom stage. O2 customers will have the chance to enjoy an unforgettable festival experience with access to their own exclusive VIP areas using the latest mobile technology, including Near Field Communication (NFC) which provides access simply by tapping your mobile phone against a reader. The O2 blueroom provides superb views of the main stage and inside O2 music fans can enjoy their own private stage with exclusive live performances throughout the festival. The O2 Wireless Festival has increasingly become a hotbed for testing new technologies. In 2007, O2 sold £200,000 worth of mobile tickets for the festival, double what was sold in 2006. NFC was also tested as a potential future solution for ticketing, with a special Swarovski crystal-studded bracelet created to allow entry into the O2 hospitality area simply by swiping it past a mobile phone. Other technologies implemented by O2 at the Festival included allowing festival goers to upload their photos and video clips to the Festival screens and O2 Active for free using special Bluetooth stations. A dedicated O2 Wireless Festival site on O2 Active also offered festival content to download, travel news, schedules and exclusive backstage images. “Now in its fourth year, the O2 Wireless Festival continues to go from strength to strength and this year’s line-up further cements its reputation as one of the UK’s top music events.” said Sally Cowdry, marketing director, O2 UK. “Once again, we will be bringing the latest technologies including mobile ticketing to O2 Wireless as well as providing a unique VIP experience for O2 customers, including advanced access to tickets, special areas on site and lots more.” The full O2 Wireless Festival artist line-up will be announced during February. -ends-