Naturally , Heap and his team have had to face some major challenges over the years at festivals , not least the British weather , but one encounter that comes to mind almost immediately was his experience with South American band Incantation . “ They were booked to play our open-air arena at Sidmouth , situated in the gardens of the council offices that are miles away from anything . The band ’ s rider said two bottles of red wine , so we gave them the bottles . Just before the band were due to go on stage their road manager asked for the two bottles of red wine , to which I had to say , ‘ You ’ ve already had them ’. He said , ‘ Well I ’ m sorry , if we don ’ t have two bottles the band will not play ’.
“ I ’ ve got 6,000 people in the audience and we ’ re miles away from an off licence , so I just put my arm around him in a friendly way and walked him up the ramp towards the main stage . He said , ‘ Just a minute , what are we doing ?’ so I said , ‘ You and I are going up to the microphone in front of 6,000 people to tell them why your band are not going to play ’. Of course , he instantly changed his mind , and the band played a blinder .
AFO launch After attending and running festivals across the country for years , in 1987 Heap made the pioneering move of launching the
Association of Festival Organisers ( AFO ). He says , “ It occurred to me that my communication with other festival organisers was limited to the occasional phone call and meeting them at other festivals . I thought we should get together in a pub , have a drink , exchange ideas and stories and maybe find ways to support each other . There were only six of us in the first meeting , and nobody else wanted to do any admin so I got the job . I ’ ve been general secretary ever since .
“ The ethos of AFO has nothing to do with how big your event is or
Steve Heap has enjoyed a colourful career onstage and behind it how much money you make or how many people you book or even who you book ; it ’ s to do with supporting each other and sharing knowledge to benefit the wider industry .
“ I learn things from going to Festival Republic events but I also learn things from going to Priddy Folk Festival in Dorset , which has 600 people at it .”
As well as his role at AFO , Heap is chairman of the Events Industry Forum ( EIF ) and a contributor to The Purple Guide – which it produces in consultation with The Health and Safety Executive to help event organisers manage health and safety issues .
Heap says the festival industry has changed a lot since he started out , largely for the better : “ The industry has grown significantly and become more professional – a lot of people used to work in little groups on little events .
“ There are still people in the industry who think that major rock and pop events are the only things that matter , sadly , and I quite often have to point out that there are nearly 1,000 music festivals around the country and most of them are run by volunteers .
“ The professionalism part of it is nothing to do with how much money you ’ re making , it ’ s to do with how you behave . We have a slogan at AFO – professionalism is a state of mind , not a state of income .”
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