like the high street; doing the
same as everyone else. We may be
doing similar things but it has to
be different and that comes down
to curation — you need passionate
clever people who really know what
they are doing.”
Knowing when to say no
Under Stewart’s watch, The Big
Chill became a pioneering boutique
festival that offered an audience
experience far superior and varied
than the vast majority of its peers.
However, she recalls being laughed
at when she first came up with
the idea of introducing a cocktail
bar at the event. “Over the years I
have tried many new things and
there have been a few fails along
the way but it's invigorating to
challenge expectations or do things
not just for profit but to increase
experience.”
Festival environments in
general have evolved significantly
since then, as have audience
expectations, but Stewart says it
is possible to go too far: “It can all
get a bit bourgeois. Festivals have
always been about having fun and
feeling free in a field.”
Stewart has been reluctant to
partner with brands at the Green
Man, despite having worked with
many during her time at The Big
Chill.
She says, “I am open to working
with brands on activations, but
I have never found anything
sympathetic to the festival and the
way we work.
“Festival-goers are very savvy
now and at an event such as Green
Man they don’t want brands there,
they don’t want their children
seeing toy sponsorship in the
children’s area, they want to shut
the door on all that.”
Looking ahead
Stewart says that the festival
industry is “an obstacle savvy
business” with widespread
experience of overcoming hurdles
of all shapes and sizes: “Covid-19 is a
huge challenge but it is one of many
things we now have to deal with,
psychologically, when running an
event.”
Despite having decades of
experience overcoming challenges
working in one of the most unstable
of industries, Stewart says the past
year has been the most difficult
but it has also provided a chance to
reflect.
“In future, whenever I moan
about some challenge involved with
running Green Man I am going to
remind myself about this period.
Having this time out has really
made me appreciate how much I
love working on festivals and the
friends and family I work with — it
is not only a fabulous business to be
in but a way of life.
“To be successful we have always
had to evolve to stay relevant and
be able to adapt and change to
new ways of working. Each year
I learn something new and I am
astounded by the new concepts and
experiences created by the people I
work with. I can’t think of another
industry where this would happen
in this way – as festival organisers
we have an incredible job.”
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