Dua Lipa announced for International Women’s Day keynote at Futures Forum
13 February 2019 - Press releaseDouble Grammy-winning artist completes gender-balanced conference programme alongside Steve Lamacq, The Brits and 30+ speakers
Organisers of the inaugural Futures Forum – the one-day event for young live music professionals which takes place as part of this year’s International Live Music Conference (ILMC) – have announced double Grammy-winning pop sensation Dua Lipa as this year’s keynote interview.
The Futures Forum Keynote: Dugi & Dua Lipa will see Dua and her rock star father, Dukagjin Lipa, interviewed by IQ editor Gordon Masson about the pivotal role that live music has played in building Dua’s career, the demands of life on the road and their Sunny Hill Foundation in Kosovo.
As the final day of ILMC, Futures Forum takes place at the Royal Garden Hotel, in West London on Friday 8 March. All ILMC delegates are able to attend, while subsidized day passes are available for younger working professionals.
“It’s a huge vote of confidence in Futures Forum to have an artist of Dua Lipa’s calibre and influence as our first-ever keynote interview, especially on International Women’s Day 2019,” says ILMC head Greg Parmley. “With over 30 speakers confirmed, we’re also proud that Futures Forum has achieved a gender-balanced line-up in year one.”
Having smashed Spotify streaming records and topped charts globally last year, Dua won best new artist and best dance recording at the 2019 Grammy Awards on Sunday. She is only the third British female artist – after Adele and Amy Winehouse – to take home two awards.
Dua and Dugi's interview will be followed by a drinks reception to celebrate International Women's Day, hosted by Live Nation Entertainment.
Denis Desmond, Chairman Live Nation UK and Ireland says, “This is the right time to toast the women making the live music business thrive, from artists like Dua Lipa to our growing team of female promoters. To close ILMC on International Women’s Day is a fitting celebration of our bright future and we look forward to welcoming all ILMC and Futures Forum attendees.”
The Dugi & Dua Lipa keynote caps a day of panels, presentations and workshops which also sees legendary radio DJ Steve Lamacq present 30 Years in a Toilet: Enjoying grassroots venues the Lamacq way, in conversation with Mark Davyd (Music Venue Trust).
While the full schedule is online at FuturesForum.live, other highlights include:
- Eight 15-minute Soapbox Session presentations, including How it’s done… the Brit Awards by BPI’s Maggie Crowe OBE; Confessions of a super-tout by reformed super-scalper and ticket bot inventor Ken Lowson; and Ancient wisdom for modern living by Buddhist monk, meditation teacher and author Gelong Thubten
- Meet the New Bosses: Class of 2019, which sees UTA’s Oliver Ward chair a panel of rising industry stars who will discuss their vision for the future of the business
- Beyond Touring: Full-stack futures, with journalist Rhian Jones leading a debate on how artists will be building careers and incomes in the coming years
- Surviving the Business: Health & wellbeing in live, led by Live Nation’s Jana Watkins, who discusses how to survive and thrive in today’s business
ILMC runs from 5 to 8 March. Companies supporting this year’s conference include Live Nation, Ticketmaster, CTS Eventim, WME Entertainment, Showsec, Flash Entertainment, Integro, DEAG Entertainment and Mojo Rental.
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