After leading the events division of major Hispanic media giant SBS (Spanish Broadcasting Systems) for more than a decade, executive Lucas Piña is applying his live event experience to build a very different kind of festival.
The Mega Extraterrestrial Fest V (or MEF5 for short), which is being billed as “the first extraterrestrial global brand,” is envisioned as a three-day fest that will feature 11 hours of music daily, featuring more than 30 DJs and artists. The fest will also feature “characters” designed and created for the festival’s multiverse, which will be built using holograms, special effects, digital animation, augmented reality and an original soundtrack.
The event is slated to take place in Las Vegas in 2027 and is being produced and built by Piña’s company, 360 Worldwide Entertainment (360WWE), in partnership with MGM Resorts, global production company Production Resource Group (PRG, which most recently worked on the digital technology of the film Smile 2) and SBS Entertainment. Other partners include Sony Music, special effects design company Weta Workshop and character development and visual effects company MIO Design NYC.
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The MEF5 concept was developed by Piña after he left his post as head of SBS Entertainment In 2019. The objective was always to create a music-centric multiverse steeped in fantasy for what he calls the “Ser-Ser Generation,” which is non-violent and invites fans to engage in self-discovery.
Piña set his sights on Las Vegas as a launching pad and enlisted a roster of A-list producers and partners to execute his vision, including John Fragomeni as co-founder and president. Fragomeni was previously global president of Digital Domain during the years the entertainment and production studio was nominated for multiple Academy Awards for best visual effects for Spider Man: No Way Home and Avengers: Infinity War, among others.
Four-time Tony winner Jere Harris, founder and executive chairman of PRG, was brought in as general producer for the entire festival, also bringing extensive experience in creating and producing large-scale stagings, including EFX at MGM Las Vegas and Broadway’s Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.
Harris, in turn, brought in James Lehner, also of PRG, as general producer, with a background that includes the development of attractions like Terminator 2 in 3D and Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton.
The executive team at 360 also includes Grace Roeder as founder and president of mergers & acquisitions, and Luis Pascual as chief creator of scenography experience.
While Piña plans to expand the MEF5 brand into areas like film, games and crypto, the starting point is the Las Vegas festival.
“It is a genre of cosmic fantasy that integrates philosophy, spirituality, science, and technology,” says Piña. “Through these four narratives, we seek to find the right information for a simpler understanding, from a non-violent perspective, developing a new community that will be identified as the SER-SER generation.”
