W h e r e y o u r t i c k e t b e c o m e s a n e x p e r i e n c e

BEST NEWSW O R L DSPRING 2014

N. 11

ITALY UAEU K U S ASINGAPOREF R A N C E

Dear Readers,

This year’s first issue provides me with the opportunity to present the results of the previous year. I’m pleased to say that our company has been growing by double digits as demonstrated by the m o s t i m p o r t a n t e c o n o m i c indicators and has maintained a good net financial position.

After the recent successful go-live of on-site ticketing inside the mythical Louvre pyramid, and after the final installation at the King Abdullah Sports City Main Stadium in Saudi Arabia, we are about to face another year of significant growth.

In 2013 we reached and exceeded the targets that we set ourselves back in 2011 when we

presented that year’s three-year business plan. In February 2014 we presented a new three-year plan for 2014/16, and as usual, we have ambitious goals to be achieved.

The f inancial market has rewarded us with growth of over 40% in less than a week’s time, and with very high trading volumes that provide the evidence of growing interes t in our company. We have shown that we know how to grow, and we

wil l now strive to lead by example and with humility.

The people who manage our company must demonstrate undisputable competence and high standards of conduct in order to provide an example to their colleagues. Today, I

personally commit myself to do my best to make

this an absolute priority. Our

humbleness, paired with pride for wha t we a r e a n d

w h a t w e h a v e

accomplished, must be clearly evident to all those outside the company with whom we interact, and by our new colleagues who chose to share this wonderful adventure with us.

Let us all be aware that we are building our future together. Let us not forget that l is tening is something that we always need to do, both with our clients and with our colleagues.

Finally, I would like to give sincere and warm thanks to Best Union’s board and managers who share the same essential values and work together in good faith for a better future.

Greetings to all.

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W h e r e y o u r t i c k e t b e c o m e s a n e x p e r i e n c e

C O R E VA L U E S FOR VALUABLES PEOPLE

“We are fully committed to our clients in the Middle East and we are very ready to grow our business and services in this important market” says Deputy CEO of the Best Union Group, Silvano Taiani. “The opening of our Dubai branch is an exciting step for us since it allows us to work more closely with our clients in the area and to offer an even higher level of support.”

The new Best Union Middle East office is staffed directly by Best Union employees who are already familiar with Best Union’s current client sites in the area, including Playnation, Global Village, Ferrari World, YAS Waterworld and others.

In addition, Best Union Middle East will be offering and supporting Best Unions’ latest

t i cke t ing and access control system, the Best O v e r v i e w

Solution (BOS), which is used by

pres t igious venues worldwide to handle

sophisticated ticketing and access control needs.

“Our BOS Ticketing system is now being used by the world’s most prestigious attractions, and we are pleased to offer this leading technology to the Middle East market“ says Taiani. “As shown in

other markets around the world, our BOS Ticketing system can uniquely handle the ticketing and access

control needs of high-volume parks and attractions.”

The Best Union Group has announced the opening of Best Union Middle East JLT, its newest office located in Dubai. With international offices already operating in the US, the UK, Europe and Asia, this new office in Dubai

demonstrates the Best Union Group’s commitment to expanding their activities in the important Middle Eastern market.

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BEST UNION GROUP ANNOUNCES OPENING OF BEST UNION MIDDLE EAST JLT

IN DUBAI

It’s been a cold winter in Niagara Falls, Canada, but things are beginning to heat up with the installation of OmniTicket Network’s Best Overview Solution (BOS) at the new Horn Blower Cruises Niagara, Canada's only Falls boat tour! Hornblower Cruises is the new official boat operator offering boat tours of Niagara Falls.

This winter the OmniTicket Network project team braved record-breaking cold weather to work with t h e Horn Blower Cruises Niagara team to

implement the BOS.

Once installation is comp le te , t he BOS system

will be used to manage t imed ticketing, group sales a n d point-of-sale for the Horn B l o w e r

Cruises Niagara site.

OmniTicket will also be providing ticket vending machines to allow sel f - ser vice t icket ing for guests, and is supplying technology to manage the Horn Blower Cruises Niagara web sales.

Reservations for Horn Blower Cruises Niagara are being accepted online now at www.niagaracruises.com!

HORN BLOWER CRUISES N I A G A R A S A I L S T O W A R D S A

SPRING OPENING

W h e r e y o u r t i c k e t b e c o m e s a n e x p e r i e n c e

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The inaugural season for Wet ‘n’ Wild Sydney was a raging success with the popular new water park welcoming more than 400,000 g u e s t s from its opening on the 12th of December to the e n d o f January. The park features over 40 exciting slides and attract ion, including the world’s largest inland sea!

OmniTicket Network team working on the project was happy to be part of the exciting opening in Australia! OmniTicket Network provided the Best Overview Solution (BOS) for the project and implemented innovative RFID technology to support the use of RFID wristbands c a l l e d

“Mybands” which are worn by guests to gain admission to the park to and make payments on purchases throughout the park. Guests can upload

cash onto their “MyBand” and use this to purchase retail or food & beverage at any location.

OmniTicket also supplied a custom access control solution at the park’s front gate, along with the BOS software to operate multiple self-serve ticket vending machines to

make life easy for the water park guests!

Wet ‘n’ Wild Sydney is also using BOS within their retail point-of-sale areas and their food & beverage point-of-sale areas. In addition, their guests can buy tickets and season passes in advance online, reserve cabana and create and manage their booking and accounts ahead of their visit.

Wet ‘n’ Wild Sydney offers a comprehensive visit planning website at wetnwildsydney.com.au. NEW

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WET ‘N’ WILD SYDNEY OPENS WITH OMNITICKET’S BEST OVERVIEW

SOLUTION (BOS)

Wes t End venues c o m p e t e f o r producers’ business n o t o n l y o n t h e facilities and size of their venues but on their ability to reach

the right audience for the producer’s show.

L o n d o n ’s A d e l p h i Theatre (jointly owned by Really U s e f u l Theatres and Nederlander I n t e r na t i o na l ) , have taken the decision to bring ticketing in-house in order to gain greater control over the customer experience and to facilitate the full exploitation of the ticket distribution opportunities provided by ticket agencies. The enta system was selected as the natural choice for a West End venue, both because of its long standing strengths in managing ticketing and because it is helping the West End to change how distribution is used to reach additional customers.

Richard Howle, Commercial Director at Really Useful Theatres, comments, “The enta system has great facilities to handle ticketing through all of our sales channels – online, telephone and box office, it is a system that understands the complexities of West End ticketing.“

Having celebrated its bicentenary in 2006, the current Adelphi Theatre is the fourth venue on this site in the Strand, and in the 200 years since the first building opened on 27 November 1806 i t has opera ted under no fewer than s e v e n d i f f e r e n t names. Currently The Adelphi is home to The Bodyguard, with t h e n e w production, Made in Dagenham, set to open in the autumn.

E n t a T i c k e t i n g So lu t ions i s a division of Best Union UK Ltd, part of Best Union Company Spa. The enta ticketing, marketing and CRM system is used to power the box offices and marketing teams of a range of performing arts venues including West End and regional theatres, arts centres and concert halls. The enta system provides venues with a fully white label solution to support all sales channels. The enta software has integrated CRM capabilities, extensive facilities to manage ticket sales through a range of sales channels including ticket agents selling live from venue inventory and a long heritage in serving clients with complex needs.

W h e r e y o u r t i c k e t b e c o m e s a n e x p e r i e n c e

ADELPHI THEATREAn Art Deco theatre with

21st Century ticketing

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Milan, September 19, 2014.

The Pink Floyd Exhibition is the first international retrospective of one of the world’s most pioneering and influential bands. It contains over 300 objects collected during nearly 5 decades of Pink Floyd’s work, and it will take the visitor on a surreal, multi-sensory journey through Pink Floyd’s extraordinary world from their debut to the present.

Aubrey Powell, of Hipgnosis Ltd., who with his late partner Storm Thorgerson, designed many of the Floyd's revolutionary album art, is the exhibition's curator and creative director.

The active involvement and collaboration of the three band members in all

planning aspects has b e e n crucial to the execution of it.

The Pink Floyd Exhibition occupies some 2500 square metres of Milan’s La Fabbrica del Vapore, a museum and creative centre in the city of Milan.

Charta, part of best Union Group, confirms its position as a reference point

for major events and will manage the presale, onsite and online ticketing services as

well as the staffing services for the exhibition.

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Visit www.pinkfloydexhibition.com Tickets www.vivaticket.it

THE PINK FLOYD E X H I B I T I O NTHEIR MORTAL REMAINS

The exhibition, hosted by the City of Milan and the Skira publishing house, is curated by Flaminio Gualdoni and Rosalia Pasqualino di Marineo with the contribution of the Fondazione Piero Manzoni.

Milan was the city of Piero Manzoni and this is the reason why, within the "Milan Spring" events, the city has devoted to him the most important exhibition ever, reconstructing his short yet intense life through seminal works that document all the stages of his career.

Original documents, manifestos, pictures, catalogues and letters are part of the exhibition, outlining the Milan of the artistic and, more in general, cultural avant-gardes during the extraordinary 1950s.

As se s so r F i l ippo De l Corno comments, “This exhibition is a cornerstone of the Milan Spring, the cultural festival made of exhibitions, concerts, events and seminars which the city of Milan has dedicated to all the artists who contributed to the greatness of our town”.

Best Union confirms its devotion to Milan cultural institutions by providing ticketing, presale as well as staffing services.

W h e r e y o u r t i c k e t b e c o m e s a n e x p e r i e n c e

From March 26th to June 2nd Palazzo Reale will host the exhibition dedicated to Piero Manzoni a n d his oeuvre, increasingly recognized as one of the pivotal avant-garde experiments of the 20th

century.

Visit www.mostramanzonimilano.it Tickets www.vivaticket.it

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P I E R O M A N Z O N I1933 - 1963

Emma Dante will d i r e c t t h e 6 7 t h Cycle of Classical Plays at the Teatro O l i m p i c o i n V i c e n z a , f r o m September 17th to

October 26th, 2014.

The Sicilian filmmaker, hosted in Vicenza by Eimuntas Nekrosius in 2012, while she was artistic director of the Classical Plays at the Olimpico, has e x p r e s s e d h e r w o n d e r a n d

a m a z e m e n t a t d i r e c t i n g Medea in one of the most

famous theatre in the wor ld , p ro t ec t ed by Unesco for its stunning Palladian architecture and home of one of the most ancient cycles of

classics.

Now that she has taken the baton, she feels the challenge as well as the wonder.

"I've always had quite a propensity for disobedience” the artist says. “Especially when I deal with a huge task. Tiny me, facing the masterpiece of Teatro Olimpico, instead of being afraid, I fall into a state of unconsciousness and I start gambling with the shadows of the past. That's why I accepted the direction of the 67th Cycle of Classical Plays... Because of the challenge to face the majesty of history and the concrete presence of a distant echo".

Indeed, this monumental and aesthetic limit inspired the theme of the next 67th cycle: The journey on this side of the border, a reckless project that leads to other places, goes beyond human limits, and evokes other dimensions, by wondering about what’s profane and sacred as well as by changing ancient emotion i n t o s t r e a m o f consciousness and instincts.

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EMMA DANTE’S JOURNEY ON THIS SIDE OF THE BORDER

Visit www.tcvi.it

Tickets www.vivaticket.itPresale tickets are available on Vivaticket.

In a world where everything seems to be controlled, where all of our lives can be spied

through technology, above our heads there lies a universe which is, to most of us, just a big mystery,

an "infinite unknown sky" that mankind has tried to discover, know and reveal over the years.

GATEWAY TO SPACE, with its impressive collection of rockets and space memorabilia, represents a unique opportunity to learn about the world of space exploration. The visitor will have the opportunity to become familiar with space stations, the original particles from outer space and other planets, models and pieces of satellites, as well as with meteorite particles.

GATEWAY TO SPACE will be hosted for the first time in Europe, from May 10th to 31st July, 2014, at Hall 6 of the Udine Exhibition Centre.

Best Union Group will contribute to such a memorable event by providing the presale, onsite and online ticketing services as well as the staffing one.

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G A T E W A Y T O S P A C ETHE EXHIBITION

A m e m o r a b l e a d v e n t u r eVisitwww.gatewaytospace.it

Ticketswww.vivaticket.it

For the first time in Italy, the BBC Concerts, a cycle of 9 events, will be hosted by the Auditorium in Milan during the months of July, August and September 2014.

The extraordinary images taken from the best nature documentaries by BBC will be projected onto the big screen and will be accompanied on stage by

original music performed live by the Symphony Orchestra of Milan Giuseppe Verdi and conducted by Danilo Grassi.

The BBC Concerts are the perfect link between edutainment and music.

Each event will be developed starting from one of three main documentaries the British broadcaster dedicates to life on our planet. Planet Earth investigates the evolution of environments, from Nepal peaks to the lush vegetation of the Amazon rainforest, and to the carved out dunes of the Sahara, through wonderful slow motion sequences. The Blue Planet shows the sea-floor teeming with life at unexplored depths. The Frozen Planet captures the delicate, breathtaking beauty as well as the magnificent power of the elements in the largest ice deserts on earth.

The Blue Planet, Planet Earth and The Frozen Planet Concerts, realized under the supervision of the original music composer George Fenton, had been hosted in some of the most important venues in North America, Europe, Japan and Australia, collecting a series of sold out performances and receiving enthusiastic reviews from critics .

Experience this extraordinary event by purchasing presale tickets through Best Union Group and Vivaticket.

Tickets www.vivaticket.it

W h e r e y o u r t i c k e t b e c o m e s a n e x p e r i e n c e

THE BBC CONCERTS AT AUDITORIUM IN MILANA total experience of sound and vision

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A r i c h program of events star ting from The 14th International Architecture Exhibition, directed by Rem Koolhaas (June 7th to November 23rd, 2014), then through the 9th International Festival of Contemporary Dance directed by Virgil Sieni (June 19th to 29th, 2014 ); and on with the events of the Biennale – College Theatre directed by Àlex Rigola (July 30th to August 10th, 2014) and the 58th International Festival of Contemporary Music directed by Ivan Fedele (September 20th and 21st, October 3rd to 12th, 2014).

In 2015 La Biennale will host the 56th International Art Exhibition, the Biennale Dance 2015, the 43rd International Theatre Festival and the 59th International F e s t i v a l o f Contemporary Music.

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LA BIENNALE B Y C H A R TA

Enjoy this series of wonderful events with Best Union Group in the front row, as a major player in organizing worldwide most important cultural events.

The Best Union Group has once again been awarded the tender for ticketing and access control services, as well as for the promotion and sale of the Biennale Card, for the events organized by the Foundation La Biennale di Venezia in 2014 and 2015.

Visitwww.labiennale.org

Ticketswww.vivaticket.it

JAMBO: Choose your freestyle!6/7/8 June 2014from 2.00 to 12.00 p.m.BolognaFiere

Daily ticket: € 15,00 + fees

Visit www.thejambofestival.it

Tickets www.vivaticket.it

After its debut in 2013 the most important Italian event dedicated to street culture, dance, music and action-sports returns from June 6th to 8th, 2014 at Bologna Exhibition

Centre.Come and enjoy the experience of skateboarding, BMX, street

dance and hip hop music, as well as the first and only Italian Cup dedicated to freestyle sports and music. There will be free

lessons for visitors, daily evening shows with the best riders and emerging artists as well as with the most famous Hip Hop international stars.

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THE JAMBO IS BACK!

And last but not least there will be two live events

at the JAMBO Main Stage: Public Enemy on June 6th De La Soul on June 7th.

PROMOTION!until April 30th

Daily ticket: € 12,00 +fees3 days pass: € 30,00 +fees

The Macerata Opera Festival celebrates its 50th opera season at Spheristerion, from July 18th to August 10th.

The festival, titled "Opera is female", will see Aida, Tosca

and Traviata directed by three female conductors: the English

Julia Jones, the Korean Eun Sun Kim a n d the Italian Speranza Scappucci.

"The Festival takes action not only in favor of equality between the sexes,” said the artistic director Francesco Micheli, “but mainly to give visibility to genuine talent."

Julia Jones is one of the most important conductors in Europe. Her participation in the Macerata Opera Festival e l e v a t e s the Italian event to the top lyrical world, at the same level as Covent Garden in London and Opera in Paris.

Eun Sun Kim is a young Korean who is gaining international fame in the most prestigious European theatres such as the Frankfurt Opera.

Speranza Scappucci, a great vocal coach, has just debuted as a conductor, but she has been working with the Salzburg Festival and with Maestro Riccardo Muti for a long time.

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OPERA, THY NAME IS WOMAN

Visitwww.sferisterio.it

Tickets www.vivaticket.it

Thanks to Vivaticket you can purchase tickets for

each concert or the subscription to the entire event.

Villegrandtour is the first network that allows you to visit the most beautiful historical residences close to Venice. Some of the Villas with unique works of art by Palladio

are protected by Unesco. The residences contain treasured frescos by Tiepolo and Veronese, art galleries, collections of tapestries, furniture dated from 1500 to 1700, and they are surrounded by fabulous parks.

Villegrandtour is the best way to combine art, culture and local experiences, and it offers a unique view into the Italian life style thanks to the eno-gastronomic itineraries and the chance to combine art and

“made in Italy” shopping. A journey is the only thing you pay for, but which makes you richer!

The ticketing and access control of the fifteen residences belonging to Villegrandtour network are now managed by Best Union, which once again demonstrates the company’s devotion to Italian cultural projects.

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BEST UNION & VILLEGRANDTOUR

Visit www.villegrandtour.it

Tickets www.vivaticket.it

Thanks to our experience we are able to find the best way to handle any request, starting from the concept, to the design and t h e n t o t h e implementation of each event.

A f e w s u c h events include the presentation of the Ducati MotoGP riders Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden during the event

dedicated to Ducati Superbike team in 2014; the launch of the new

BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, as we l l a s t he concer t

G io r g ia e Lu c io Dalla organized for Unindustria; the Bologna Footbal C l ub C h r i s t m a s P a r t y ; a n d t h e

c e l e b r a t i o n o f Lamborghini’s 50th

anniversary.

Some of our latest work includes the set up of the Automobili Lamborghini and Maserati shop in Galleria Cavour in Bologna, work on the SIR campaign, the Italian Society of Rheumatology, with actor Giorgio Pasotti as testimonial, and participation in the annual charity football event, La Partita del Cuore 2014, live on RAI1 tv channel.

HB Comm, as a part of the Best Union Group, specializes in spectacular events creation and communication.

H B C O M M :AMAZING AND SURPRIS ING EVENTS!

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Visitwww.hbcomm.it

W h e r e y o u r t i c k e t b e c o m e s a n e x p e r i e n c e

ITALY UAEU K U S ASINGAPOREF R A N C E

bestunion.comvivaticket.it

BEST NEWSW O R L DSPRING 2014

N. 11