Ian Xiang

Executive Producer with 20+ years creating, producing and scaling immersive experiences, exhibitions, live events and location-based entertainment across the UK and Europe. Creator of Lightopia Festival, built from concept into one of Europe's leading immersive festival brands: 32 events across 15 cities, 940+ operating days, 2.65m+ visitors and £17m+ revenue.

Comfortable owning the whole picture: concept and creative direction, venue acquisition, multi-agency coordination, production and installation, operations and full commercial control. Built AI-driven automation for venue outreach, campaign content and reporting, running multi-market prospecting at scale as a solo operator.

Native

Mandarin speaker and fluent English.

Executive Producer & Founder at Lightopia Festival (2015-01 – Present)

Creator of Lightopia Festival, large-scale outdoor location-based entertainment delivered as a recurring multi-site programme across the UK and Belgium.

• Delivered 32 major events across 15 cities and 940+ operating days, attracting 2.65m+ visitors and generating £17m+ in revenue.
• Directed projects end to end: concept development and storytelling, design, fabrication, installation, operations and guest experience.
• Appointed and managed multiple PR and marketing agencies concurrently, integrating earned media with paid campaigns across Google, Meta and TikTok to drive ticketed attendance.
• Coordinated external agencies, digital teams, production contractors, venue operations and manufacturing partners in China against fixed opening dates.
• Led commercial negotiations with venues, attractions, local authorities, suppliers and strategic partners; owned six- and seven-figure budgets and full P&L.
• Delivered licensed character IP within the programme, produced to licensor brand standards through design, fabrication, approval and installation.
• Built and led multidisciplinary teams across creative, production, operations and marketing.
• Operated major events safely throughout COVID, implementing large-scale operational and safety strategies.
• Recognised at the Eventex Awards, UK Event Awards and UK Festival Awards, with extensive BBC, ITV and international media coverage.

Executive Producer & Founder at Immersia XR (2024-01 – Present)

Location-based entertainment platform delivering immersive XR experiences for family audiences in retail environments.

• Developed scalable operational and commercial models for location-based XR, including venue economics, staffing and throughput.
• Built relationships with shopping centre operators, content partners and ticketing platforms.
• Directed audience engagement strategy across physical and digital touchpoints, working with XR, AI and spatial technologies.

Creative Director & Digital Media Producer at Independent / Studio (2005-01 – 2015-12)

• Produced 49 episodes of television programming alongside branded video and digital content.
• Founded and operated photography and digital media studios, delivering branding and interactive projects across a broad client base.
• Began career at Imagination, the experience design agency, building foundations in experiential delivery, storytelling and audience engagement.

MA in Digital Interactive Media – Ravensbourne University London

BA (Hons) in Graphic Design