European Promoters Upscaling with Black-Tie Fight Cards
Tomasz Marciniak Jan 18, 2011
Last Saturday, Dutch kickboxing and MMA promotion It’s
Showtime announced plans to hold an event in Warsaw, Poland, on
June 11. However, in lieu of a regular show, the promotion will
stage an exclusive, VIP-only black-tie gathering at Expo XXI Warsaw
International Expocentre Center for a few hundred people.
It’s Showtime -- who last year held shows outside of the Netherlands in Milan, Athens, Budapest and Prague -- will work on the Warsaw gala with BFN Group, who are already partners in promoting a VIP event in Brussels on March 26, and have promoted similar events in the past.
An exclusive event will not be a new proposition for Polish fight
fans: the country’s leading MMA promotion,
KSW, staged its first “Fight
Club” event last November inside a medieval castle in the
northern Polish town of Ryn. The show tempted customers with a
weekend getaway to the aforementioned castle for around $830 U.S.,
including admission to the fights. In a recent interview, Maciej
Kawulski, one of KSW’s promoters, said that the promotion is
committed to building the “Fight Club” brand for its “premium
customers.”
Looking over the prizefighting landscape on either side of the Atlantic, VIP tables are nothing new. However, It’s Showtime are offering full catering, as well. With regional promotions unable to command ticket prices on par with the UFC, the gate from such an exclusive event can be a significant boost compared to a standard admission event that brings in a couple thousand spectators.
Shows such as Golden Glory’s annual gala in Amsterdam and M-1’s “Battle on the Neva” -- a series held on a sailing ship on the Mytninskaya embankment of St. Petersburg, Russia -- are testaments to the potential success and growing popularity of these events.
Surveys indicate that the vast majority of the world’s wealthiest cities are in Western Europe. There are significant islands of luxury east of the former Iron Curtain, as well, with Moscow and its annual “Millionaires Fair” being but one prominent example. There is no shortage of people living “executive lifestyles,” and they’re often the same crowd who either are fight fans, or can be coaxed into being fight fans for an evening, based on the aura of exclusivity and a unique, novel experience.
It looks like black-tie could be here to stay for combat sports on the Old Continent.
It’s Showtime -- who last year held shows outside of the Netherlands in Milan, Athens, Budapest and Prague -- will work on the Warsaw gala with BFN Group, who are already partners in promoting a VIP event in Brussels on March 26, and have promoted similar events in the past.
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Looking over the prizefighting landscape on either side of the Atlantic, VIP tables are nothing new. However, It’s Showtime are offering full catering, as well. With regional promotions unable to command ticket prices on par with the UFC, the gate from such an exclusive event can be a significant boost compared to a standard admission event that brings in a couple thousand spectators.
Shows such as Golden Glory’s annual gala in Amsterdam and M-1’s “Battle on the Neva” -- a series held on a sailing ship on the Mytninskaya embankment of St. Petersburg, Russia -- are testaments to the potential success and growing popularity of these events.
Surveys indicate that the vast majority of the world’s wealthiest cities are in Western Europe. There are significant islands of luxury east of the former Iron Curtain, as well, with Moscow and its annual “Millionaires Fair” being but one prominent example. There is no shortage of people living “executive lifestyles,” and they’re often the same crowd who either are fight fans, or can be coaxed into being fight fans for an evening, based on the aura of exclusivity and a unique, novel experience.
It looks like black-tie could be here to stay for combat sports on the Old Continent.
