Partnering with TfL, the organisation responsible for running London’s famous transport network, we challenged participants to create the next generation of apps using open APIs from Ticketmaster and TfL – in just six hours! They then had to present their demos in a pitch competition to our judging panel, a select group of executives from Ticketmaster and TfL, as well as Richard Trenholm, Senior Editor at CNET.
Watch a video showing everything that went on at London Hack Day below.
There was a large number of young first-time hackers, but what was even more encouraging was the mix of diversity, with an almost 50/50 gender split. We even had participants who’d travelled from as far away as Canada and Japan. It was particularly inspiring to see how quickly teams formed and gelled, with a strong spirit of cheerful collaboration. Teams made the most of their strengths, drawing on the mix of UX/design, marketing, coding and testing skills available to them to solve problems in creative ways. Hackathons are definitely not just for developers, but problem solvers of all kinds!
Recent events in London and Manchester have highlighted the scale and complexity of challenges faced when organising live events, and this breadth was evident in the range of ideas discussed during the early brainstorming, as well as the final ideas that each team worked on. Team Bike If You Like created an app to encourage noncyclists to get on a bike for the first time by combining data about local cycle access points, availability and air quality data. Team Hypemaster offered a solution for venue owners to place targeted advertising in the radius around their venue using TfL’s advertising space on bus stops. But ultimately there had to be one winner: Team Gig Roulette, who offered up a solution for fans to discover new music in a fun way by creating a version of the “secret hotel” concept but for gigs (for those not in the know, check https://www.hotwire.com or https://www.priceline.com). The concept was well thought out, it solved a common problem in an ingenious way, and the execution was well judged given the limited time available.
The overriding feeling throughout the day was one of genuine optimism, creativity and enthusiastic collaboration. The positive energy permeated the day all the way through to the judging session, where each team without fail would all participate in the pitch. Humour, passion and humility were abundant, and banished any sign of nerves. With such a young crowd it was reassuring to know that our future is in good hands! We look forward to seeing you at a future event here at Ticketmaster. Visit our twitter feed at @TMTech or our site at http://developer.ticketmaster.com for details of upcoming events.
Check out more photos from the Ticketemaster & TfL hackathon below:
