A year and a half ago, Medium Rare told UnHerd it had cracked the code on what has historically been an unprofitable events business, pulling in $15 million from just three Super Bowl parties.
Now, the events and promotion company has generated roughly $60 million so far this year, according to figures the company provided to UnHerd. It has staged 11 events so far this year, with three more on the calendar. Since ramping up in 2021, it has produced about 45 events, backed by investors including Authentic Brands Group and Palm Tree Crew, the firm cofounded by DJ Kygo.
This weekend, the company caps the first half of the year with its biggest swing yet: two World Cup final parties in New York, held on the same day.
Pulling off two major events in one day
Medium Rare is known for pulling off its massive Super Bowl parties each year that packs multiple events into one city over a couple of days. This year, in addition to its huge Super Bowl weekend, the company hosted multiple World Cup-related events that spanned about six weeks across North America.
Effectively, Medium Rare turned the World Cup into an events tour. Its Sports Illustrated Beyond the Pitch series hit what the founders considered the marquee weekends: Los Angeles on opening weekend, Dallas the following week for a big Argentina match, Miami for Portugal-Colombia, and Toronto for the first game of the round of 32.
This weekend in New York is the grand finale, and also the hardest to pull off. The company is running two major events at once, and the founders admitted they didn’t fully clock the overlap until recently.
Unlike the Super Bowl, the founders said, there isn’t a home base “the way that there typically is,” forcing the company to run two major events across the city on the same day. It’s “definitely a little crazier than normal,” Medium Rare cofounder Adam Richman said.
And the two events could hardly be more different.
The daytime event, with Eater, is a taste of the World Cup, featuring cuisine from more than 20 countries, about 30 restaurants, and celebrity chefs, for roughly 7,500 people at Pier 36 in Manhattan. Pulling it off means building commissary kitchens and pop-up restaurant booths.
That night comes the Sports Illustrated party at Cipriani downtown, pitched as the more elevated, VIP nightlife event, with 50 Cent and Diplo performing. Most guests come as part of VIP table groups that average more than $20,000, Medium Rare cofounder Joe Silberzweig said, adding the nighttime event is really for the “World Cup elite.”
Live events as ‘currency’
Medium Rare’s bet is people will keep paying more and more for in-person events because of the post-COVID boom for live experiences. It’s a bet that aligns with a broader cooling in aspirational luxury: Resale prices for status items like the Hermès Birkin have slumped as younger consumers rethink what’s worth the money.
“Live events in a big way are becoming currency, and these are can’t miss experiences,” Silberzweig said. “Being able to experience these events in person, probably post about it on social media, and go with your friends is really a lot more valuable to people these days than maybe buying a designer wallet or handbag.”
It’s the same sponsorship-led model that let Medium Rare turn a profit on Super Bowl weekend, in an events business where most festivals quietly lose money. The business is successful not just from ticket sales, but also from sponsorships. Medium Rare works with more than 150 brands a year and builds its brand activations in-house.
For companies, it’s a way to advertise during a marquee weekend like the Super Bowl or World Cup without cutting a rights deal directly with a league. At the World Cup, that has meant working with FIFA partners like Lenovo and Casamigos alongside non-FIFA brands such as Verizon and JSX.
Next up: a loaded fall, then the Olympics
Despite an exceptionally busy weekend, Medium Rare has no intention of slowing down.
September brings back-to-back weekends: DJ John Summit’s Experts Only festival on Randall’s Island, which is expected to draw 60,000 people, and a Knicks podcast event with Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. That one sold out in about 90 seconds, the founders said, with more than $1 million in tickets sitting on the waitlist. A new festival is planned for November, and the company is expanding into the College Football Championship.
“There’s a captive audience of people that are going to the game or the event that want to do more,” Richman said. “They’re flying in and they’re there for a weekend and they want to take part in all that fun stuff. And then sponsors want to be active on those weekends, and we provide this really interesting outlet.”
Then there’s 2028. The founders said they’ve already put venues on hold for the Los Angeles Olympics. They’re also eyeing the U.S. Open, the Masters, F1, and Coachella as opportunities for more events.
“We’re just getting started,” Richman said.