SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sansar, the premier platform for virtual live events, today shared the results for Lost Horizon, the world’s largest music and arts festival in virtual reality. Streamed live across Beatport, Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook, the two-day event featured four virtual stages, 70+ live performances, and over 150 works of art - drawing more than 4 million viewers from 1,100+ cities and 100 countries around the world, all contributing to a global event experience, from the team behind Shangri-La, in support of The Big Issue and Amnesty International UK.*
For Sansar, the event demonstrated the massive scale and monetization its platform supports - everything from in-world commerce (ticketing, tipping, merchandising for artists) to broadcasting and stunning visual fidelity. Over the two days of the show, sales in the platform rose by 10x, highlighting the alternate revenue streams Sansar can offer talent, labels and management as they look beyond traditional live events.
“We’re confident in saying Lost Horizon was a resounding success on all fronts - a testament to the spectacular virtual live experiences Sansar can enable in this time of distance and disconnection,” says Sheri Bryant, President of Sansar. “This first show was only the beginning.”
Created in partnership with VRJAM and the team behind Glastonbury’s Shangri-La, Lost Horizon was a deeply collaborative effort, marshaling the talents of 80+ people across 12 countries to capture and deliver performances from over 70 acts, with the support of partners including Orca Sound Project and Beatport. Production included custom merch for the event, which featured charity t-shirts for The Big Issue and Amnesty International UK,* custom avatars for performers, six virtual worlds purpose-built for the occasion (some of which replicated real-life Shangri-La stages), and audiovisuals programmed live during every set, thanks to Sansar’s interactive Party-in-a-Box console. The end result was a virtual reality music experience that fully mirrored a real-life festival: multiple A-list artists playing multiple stages simultaneously, for the first time ever.
“Thanks to the Lost Horizon crew for popping my VR cherry,” says Fatboy Slim, one of Lost Horizon’s headliners. “The experience had almost the same euphoric feeling as being at a real festival. For those interested or in there with me, I was the one with Halle Berry’s body and a big smiley head, dancing my tits off, mind slightly blown by the experience of watching myself DJ. As surreal and trippy as a real late adventure in the Shangri La……..”
“I don’t think you can ever recreate the feeling of being in a crowd of people, and how powerful that is, but it was spooky how similar it was to the real thing,” says Kaye Dunnings, Lost Horizon and Shangri-La creative director. “I met up with friends, made new ones, was able to make an avatar that could dance (moves I could never pull off in real life!) and the classic festival experience of bimbling between areas, overhearing conversations and marvelling at the wonderful looks people had created for themselves was just like people watching at a festival.”
“We’re already looking ahead to what’s next,” says Bryant. “This is an ongoing partnership with Lost Horizon, with more festivals and events planned for later this summer. Sansar is also hard at work on tons more surprises, involving acts across multiple genres. Stay tuned!”
About Wookey Project Corporation
Wookey Project Corp is a technology company that seeks to build the next generation of online experiences. Working at the intersection of entertainment, music, AR, VR and mobile, the company infuses today’s visionaries with the capital they need to become tomorrow’s leaders. Starting in 2020, the company took ownership of Sansar, a multichannel virtual events platform that specializes in turning live shows into spectacular shared experiences. Available on PC and compatible with HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, Sansar enables artists to perform live for global audiences, while allowing their fans to feel like more connected and encouraging limitless self-expression through custom avatars, branded merchandise and highly immersive, photorealistic virtual spaces. For the latest updates on Sansar and upcoming shows, go to sansar.com, and follow Sansar on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. For updates on Wookey, head to wookey.com.
*Amnesty International UK Section Charitable Trust is a charity registered in England and Wales (1051681) and in Scotland (SCO39534). Registered Offices The Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard, EC2A 3EA
