A Look Inside Elrow's First Open Air Event On North American Soil: 'Rowlympics' At The Brooklyn Mirage

Spanish live entertainment expert elrow is gearing up for its first open air event in North America, July 28. The company is going to bring its imaginative and colorful event concept to the 6,000 capacity Brooklyn Mirage in East Williamsburg, New York, for a 10-hour spectacle featuring everything elrow has become known for: immersive stage and lighting designs and performers, who engage with the audience, while it dances to electronic music.

elrow – elrow
Juan Arnau Junior and his team have become experts in creating fantasy worlds

The theme for what elrow CEO Juan Arnau Junior described as “the biggest elrow show ever in the U.S.,” is going to be “Rowlympics.”

“Set in 50 B.C. in a place called Elrowia occupied by the Romans, the Rowlympics were created as a gesture of peace and aim to distinguish the most world-class party athlete of all. Supporting revelers in their quest will be the world’s most trending house music artists playing a very rare and one of the most uplifting B2B sets this summer, creating a fantasy-fueled musical extravaganza,“ the official description reads.

Pollstar spoke to Arnau about the philosophy of his company, which launched eight years ago in Barcelona, Spain. “We realized that the electronic music market was saturated, everyone was copying each other and no one was bringing creativity into the clubs,” he said.

“So, we started giving away little toys, and using small confetti tubes, then we added stilt walkers, actors, and soon we realized that by decorating the inside of the clubs, and expanding on different themes, it eased costumers into opening their souls and being part of the show.”

Arnau thinks that “it’s all about making our fans the central part of the show. We created an immersive experience in this illusory environment that completely surrounds you, so that you feel you are inside and part of it. I think that’s one of our biggest if not the biggest attributes: our mission to create an immersive experience. Literally, performers and animators all engage with the partygoers, that’s how we create this atmosphere. Everything happens within the crowd.”

Elrow projects are created with complete autonomy, from props and stage design, actor characterization, performance direction and production itself. The company employs some 100 artisans creating the 16,000-plus items required for elrow’s shows, including hats, shoes, dresses, body-suits, etc. It takes close to 50 kilometers of fabric just to make the costumes, 80 percent of it is processed and dyed right in the shop by the textile design team. The work is done in workshops, one of which is located in Barcelona. Another one opens in Ibiza during the summer.

Toni Villen – Juan Arnau Junior
CEO of elrow

“It’s a long process,” Arnau explained. “Our creative team gathers to discuss the next theme/show, then we start drawing out sketches and ideas with the technical director to see what our limitations are if any. At the same time the animation team works on creating the new characters, and focuses on the ways they will be interacting with the audience.”

Elrow’s U.S. team currently comprises four people, which is bound to grow. “We’re seeing an exciting future in the U.S. People seem to be loving the concept and are following the brand, which is growing fast. Our audience is loyal. We are selling out 5,000 capacity venues in NYC before talent is even announced. For New Yorkers, I think that’s incredible and demonstrates brand loyalty,” Arnau said.

He believes that “the more we expand our operations throughout these select markets, the better our events will get, since it’s important to have the right local teams in place who understand our marketing, and can hire local performers, animators, theatre companies, as well as help us with our elaborate decor.”

While elrow officially launched in 2010, the company falls back on an entertainment family dynasty that began in 1870, when Arnau’s ancestors from Fraga, Spain, started promoting events for the public.

Arnau’s father, Juan Arnau Senior, is credited with elevating the business to an entertainment powerhouse that includes clubs (Florida 135, Row 14), festivals (Monegros Desert Festival) and a variety of show concepts, each with a unique theme.

The official brand name elrow emerged eight years ago, when Arnau Jr. took over as CEO, becoming the sixth generation of Arnaus in this business. Since then the company has hosted parties in more than 24 countries, including Ibiza, the European mecca for electronic music, where elrow landed in 2012.

It has now arrived in New York, and already announced an Oct. 6 show in Las Vegas. According to Arnau, three more shows are booked in Miami. “We are currently focused on some other cities that will soon be announced,” he added.

Last year, elrow sold about 1 million tickets, and Arnau expects to surpass 1.5 million global ticket sales in 2018. A ticketing partner for the July 28 event in New York has yet to be announced.

Speaking about the production itself, Arnau said, “NYC is going to feature an amazing outdoor stage, a fiesta for 6,000 people. It will be [our biggest event in the U.S.] so far, so you can expect, more of everything. We already sold out our early bird tickets, 2,500-plus sold in less than 24 hours.

“Doing an outdoor party is always really special. It’s a different feeling from an indoor party, people will be surrounded by amazing decor and the confetti and stilt walkers will also be bigger. Our costumers love partying outdoors, especially in the summer, so we really believe it’s going to be mad.”

He thinks the Brooklyn Mirage is “perfect, because we will be bringing a larger stage that does not fit in a normal warehouse. So, production wise, July 28 will be the first time we have almost no limitations!”

elrow – elrow
The official event banner for the July 28 Rowlympic Games at the Brooklyn Mirage in New York