Michael Hosking
Michael Hosking was born on 6 July 1959 and is a Singapore-born and United Kingdom/British-educated entrepreneur. He is the founder and Managing Director of Midas Promotions, a leading concert promoter in Asia and Middle East, and SINGfest, the largest contemporary music festival in South East Asia, as well as being held annually in Singapore from time to time.[1]
Early years
Born in Singapore, Hosking was educated at St. John’s College in Southsea, Hampshire, England where he attended until the age of sixteen. He left school and headed to the Arab State of Bahrain in 1977, working on a building site where he saved $250. That capital would later lead him to his first business venture.[2]
Professional background
Hosking’s first business venture was at age 17, when he started his business Midas Printing, the first T-shirt printing company in the Middle East. His clients included visiting major pop stars then felt drawn towards the 'live music business.' In 1982, he embarked on his first concert with Leo Sayer.[3]
Nigel Peters, a long time friend joined Hosking in 1986 and together they expanded their horizons to include sports promotion. They brought to the region the first Asian tour by Manchester United and an extensive Middle East tour with The Harlem Globetrotters, taking in 38 games in 16 countries. Midas Promotions established their operations in the East beginning with Hong Kong in 1992.
With the turmoil of the Gulf War and having decided that Bahrain will never take off as the complete music capital of the world, Hosking moved his operations to the East, first establishing Midas Promotions in Hong Kong in 1992. In 1994, operations began in the Philippines and Singapore. Together, Hosking and Peters brought groundbreaking concerts to Vietnam and Beijing with Bryan Adams and Roxette.
Midas Promotions has continued producing sold out shows which include Michael Jackson, Ricky Martin, Mariah Carey, Robbie Williams, Black Eyed Peas, Jason Mraz, Paramore, Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Swift. The company has promoted almost 2000 shows in 32 countries, from Middle East to the Asia Pacific region.
Hosking also launched SINGfest in 2007, Singapore’s premier music festival which brought together some of the world’s top musicians and received commendations from regional music fans and media alike.[4] SINGfest has featured some of the biggest international acts from diverse genres, including Jason Mraz, Alicia Keys, Katy Perry, Thirty Seconds to Mars and Ian Brown.
Today, Midas Promotions is expanding its range of territories and has established itself in an enviable position in the industry promoting more recently the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Norah Jones, The Script and OneRepublic in 2013.
Most recently in 2010, Hosking teamed up with ICE Corp and helped establish the next generation of mobile social networking with the launch of Modizo.[5] He is often invited as a guest or a key speaker to entertainment and music related conferences around the world.
Personal life
Hosking is known for his passion towards Manchester United. He now resides in Phuket, Thailand, with his wife Rona and their three children; Francis, Andrea and Isabella. In his spare time, he coaches football and makes visits to the Old Trafford to see his favourite football team. He is also actively involved in real estate planning and development in Thailand. One of the most successful developments in Phuket is Sai-Taan villas.[6] Hosking has also contributed to the building of St Joseph's Church in Phuket.
References
- ↑ Lai, Jennifer (8 July 2010). "SINGfest 2010: Get ready for Southeast Asia's biggest music festival of the year". CNN. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ↑ Peters, Daniel (18 June 2012). "The Midas Touch: A chat with Michael Hosking". Bandwagon Asia. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ↑ Stanley, Bruce (11 January 2011). "Michael Hosking" (PDF). phuketgazette.net. Phuket Gazette. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ↑ "SINGfest 2010: A Review". Spin or Bin Music Blog. 8 August 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ↑ "Intelligent Communication Enterprise Letter to Shareholders". Marketwire. 16 March 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ↑ Hall, Zoe Dare. "Tigers come to Thailand". www.tgr-asia.com. Jumeirah Private Islands. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2016.