Member Article

Virtual quizzes prove to be the right answer for entrepreneurial Edinburgh DJ

A popular Edinburgh DJ is experiencing surging demand for his services after diversifying into hosting virtual quiz events.

DJ and entertainer Stewart Calverto made the move after losing all of his DJ and quiz hosting bookings due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He started hosting a weekly virtual quiz in April, using SpeedQuizzing, a free app and online platform which enables users to host and play fast-paced, interactive quizzes remotely.

Demand for his quizzes quickly grew as word spread, and he now hosts three virtual quizzes every week, averaging about 25 paying teams per quiz, from both the local area and as far away as Los Angeles.

In addition to these weekly gigs, Stewart was invited by Scotland’s Unique Events to host the hugely successful monthly Drive-In Movies events that began running at Edinburgh Airport last month, hosting virtual SpeedQuizzes and car discos before each blockbuster film.

Commenting on the demand for his virtual quizzes, Stewart said: “The start of the lockdown was pretty bleak, with all of my forthcoming gigs pulled due to the pandemic, and no real green shoots in sight.

“I started to really miss hosting my regular venue-based pub quizzes, so I thought I’d try my hand at hosting them remotely, primarily to keep in contact with my regular quizzers.

“Over the last four months, things have really taken off, culminating in the recent Drive-In Movies events which have been unbelievable, with over 100 teams regularly taking part in each quiz from the comfort of their own cars.

“I still get to do what I love doing, just in a slightly different way, and with no signs of demand for these virtual quizzes tailing off, I’m looking forward to running many more over the coming weeks and months.”

Over 4,0000 people made their way to Edinburgh Airport in August for the 4-day outdoor cinema events and Stewart – or Captain Calverto as he’s known – will be MC’ing this month’s stellar programme of events, which include screenings of a mix of classics and blockbusters like Back to the Future, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Toy Story. The events will continue on the last weekend of every month for the rest of the year.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Thompson .