Although Kultuurikatel opened its doors to Latitude59 visitors on Wednesday this year, the production team had already been working at full speed since Sunday. It was once again time to build a conference on a festival scale!
The three-day event brought more than 3,000 people to Kultuurikatel. For the first time this year, we also hosted Day 0 events at the venue: Thinking in Billions and Investor Experience took place on the Bold stage, while a press event was held in Stalker on the Future stage. While this meant one less setup day for the production team, everything came together successfully, all necessary preparations were completed, and the event was ready to begin!
Photos: Natalie Pastakeda.
From a production manager’s perspective, Latitude59 is one of the most interesting events in Estonia because it requires planning a conference, live broadcasts (there were no recordings — streams were delivered to the VIP area and the outdoor food area), and an expo area simultaneously, while also designing and furnishing the entire venue. Everything happens in parallel, and everything has to run with minute-by-minute precision.
Kultuurikatel remains the ideal venue for Latitude59
With its industrial spaces and multiple levels, Kultuurikatel offers endless possibilities to reconfigure and reinvent different areas year after year — and this year was no exception. New locations were introduced for the Matchmaking Area and the third main stage, which this year was called Builders Lab.
Photos: Ken Mürk, Stanislav Moshkov.
5 stages, 142 speakers, and the tense moments the audience never sees
In total, there were five stages this year, named:
- Bold Stage
- Future Stage
- Builders Lab
- Pitching Stage
- Podcast Stage
To ensure all stages ran smoothly and that the production team clearly understood the organizer’s expectations, each stage required a detailed Excel file known as a minute schedule. So the idea that everything has to run down to the minute is exactly right.
However, especially at an event of this scale, last-minute changes can and do happen, creating a fair amount of tension for everyone involved. This is where a professional technical partner becomes essential — one that can handle those changes without losing control of the flow.
A big thank you goes to the Space Productions team, thanks to whom the on-stage program appears seamless to the audience, while behind the scenes the team is constantly handling:
- program updates and adjustments in real time
- finding speakers, wiring them up, and briefing them
- coordination with the technical crew
- schedule adjustments when shifts occur
- displaying presentations and interstitial slides with smooth transitions
- collaboration with volunteers
Photos: Natalie Pastakeda, Edmond Mäll, Max Dubovik, Ken Mürk.
Moments from other stages: Future Stage, Pitching Stage and SEB Podcast Stage:
Photos: Ken Mürk, Edmond Mäll, Max Dubovik.
We built booths for 15 partners and 24 startups across the expo areas.
Partner booths and the startup zone have always been strategically placed either near the stages or along key visitor flow routes to ensure maximum visibility. A good location is a strong foundation, but it is not enough on its own. We have always encouraged partners to create added-value activities within their booths, or we have helped them develop these ourselves.
Over the years, it has become clear that the most effective formats are interactive activities, memorable experiences, and of course good food and drinks. That is why at Latitude59 you won’t find monotonous booths with roll-up banners and people simply handing out flyers to passers-by. Real value is created when visitors want to stop, start a conversation, and spend time — for example over a good coffee or ice cream.
Photos: Natalie Pastakeda, Ken Mürk, Edmond Mäll.
Last but not least – workshops
In addition to the main stages, the Terrace Hall and the Outdoor Tower offered the opportunity to take part in smaller, more in-depth workshops. These spaces focused on practical skills, hands-on knowledge sharing, and active discussion, setting them apart from the conference’s main stages.
From a production perspective, the workshops required a more modest technical setup, but at the same time greater flexibility, as the format demanded closer interaction between speakers and the audience.
Photos: Edmond Mäll.
Another successful year and a satisfied production team
The entire festival-style conference was technically delivered by a 50-member production team from Space Productions and a 3-member team from Frank Events, led by Asso Tominga. How well we succeeded is up to each participant to decide, but a satisfied team and the numbers speak for themselves:
- 3,000+ participants from 70 countries
- 800+ startup representatives
- 600+ investors
- 142 speakers
- 25 team members and nearly 90 volunteers
- 50+ partners who made it all possible
- 5 stages filled with exciting topics
Frank Events would like to thank the Latitude59 team for their immense trust and inspiring collaboration. A big thank you to the entire Space Productions team for the outstanding execution and brilliant ideas. With this team, even the sky is not the limit 🙂
Fotod: Stanislav Moshkov, Ken Mürk.