June 2012London, UK – Samsung Electronics UK has today announced its involvement in the first roll out of ticketless technology at live music events in the UK. As part of an association with Kilimanjaro Live and Intellitix, Samsung will bring RFID technology to festival goers for the first time this summer promising secure access to the gigs and virtually no queues.The Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ upcoming gig at Knebworth on 23 June will mark the first time the technology has been used by an artist anywhere in Europe. This will be followed by music and wakeboarding festival Wakestock, which is set to become Europe’s most technologically advanced festival after deploying the technology.Special RFID wristbands are being issued which will be read on arrival to validate visitors’ entry. At the wearer’s discretion, the bands can be linked to their social media profiles or used to enter competitions associated with both events.Festival goers can head to the Samsung Galaxy Note experiential stand, on site at both events, where they will be able to personalize their wristband to check in on Facebook and share their experience with their friends online, upgrade to VIP simply by flashing their wristband, and sample both the Galaxy Note and recently released Galaxy S III. Samsung is also preparing the way for any festival goers with an NFC enabled mobile phone to be able to use that as their ticket at future events.Simon Stanford, Vice President, Telecommunications & Networks Division, Samsung UK and Ireland said: “We’re delighted to announce our involvement in the first rollout of ticketless technology this country has seen. In future, everyone will be able to use their mobile phone as their ticket, whether they are music fans going to a gig, or a commuters travelling to work. So we’re excited to be aligning ourselves with that technology and to be bringing a new experience to both our customers and to music fans across the country.”The promoter of both events, Stuart Galbraith from Kilimanjaro Live, commented: “We’ve been waiting for the opportunity to use RFID technology for a while as it’s a great way to enhance and grow the customer experience for concerts and festivals of the future. We are very excited to be working with Samsung and Intellitix in being one of the first UK promoters to embrace this new technology and look forward to developing adaptations across many events.”Serge Grimaux, CEO at Intellitix, the market leader in RFID solutions for live events, said: “This is the start of a revolution in the live event-going experience in the UK. Samsung recognizes how quickly ticketless technology will evolve due to NFC-enabled phones such as the Galaxy S III. The future is now, and Samsung is at the forefront of this.” Denzil Thomas, Business Director, Billington Cartmell Music who conceived the association, commented: “NFC is still not widely understood, so we wanted to create a groundbreaking way to demonstrate the power of Samsung’s leading NFC-enabled devices to consumers. Pretty soon NFC will be ubiquitous in ticketing, it’s been great to have Samsung kick it all off in the UK.”About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2011 consolidated sales of US$143.1 billion. Employing approximately 206,000 people in 197 offices across 72 countries, the company operates two separate organizations to coordinate its nine independent business units: Digital Media & Communications, comprising Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, and Digital Imaging; and Device Solutions, consisting of Memory, System LSI and LED. Recognized for its industry-leading performance across a range of economic, environmental and social criteria, Samsung Electronics was named the world’s most sustainable technology company in the 2011 Dow Jones Sustainability Index. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.]]>
