EUROPEAN FESTIVAL AWARDS
professionals from the field for several days in a secluded place is the most beneficial effect. As mentioned before, there are many challenges that we’ re facing as an industry.
“ IT SHOWS HOW MUCH THE PUBLIC VALUES FESTIVALS AS SPACES OF FREEDOM AND EXCHANGE.”
been accomplished by so many different festivals across the continent.
Are there any new categories this year?
We introduced the‘ New Kid On The Block Award’ last year. This award honours new and young business talents up to the age of 30 who have made a name for themselves in the international music festival business through exceptional achievements and creative talent( booking, artist liaison, production, marketing, project management, safety, sustainability etc.). The winner stands out by going above and beyond what was expected of them and demonstrating high potential for the future. For now, we’ re very happy with this line-up of awards.
How important is it that the public is involved in the voting and how many votes are usually cast?
This involvement is paramount. In the past year, festivals from over 30 countries participated and more than 300,000 single votes have been cast by the public. This resulted in 104 shortlisted nominees in 13 distinct categories, not counting the lifetime achievement award. This participation shows, how much the public values festivals as spaces of freedom and exchange. It also ensures a balanced process, in which we’ re honouring the most popular festivals as well as the most prolific in certain fields via the specialised categories.
Yourope has long been bringing the continents’ leading festival promoters together to exchange ideas and knowledge, what are the key issues currently facing the industry?
Festivals in today’ s climate are facing many different challenges in many different fields. The ever-rising costs in general are one of the main issues, but also climate change and the accompanying environmental issues and extreme weather conditions, political pressure and backlash regarding grants for festivals or the availability of artists are some of the key issues to name just a few.
You recently held the European Festival Conference – what was the most beneficial result of that?
The fact, that this year’ s edition, held in Portugal, was sold out with a record number of attendees shows that the demand and will to collaboration is greater and more necessary than ever. In general, to be able to discuss current and urgent matters with so many
What is the Future-Fit Festivals 2.0 initiative, and how can festival operators benefit from it?
Resilient, responsible, relevant, resistant – how can festivals become exactly that? The Yourope will continue looking for answers with the help of its project Future-Fit Festivals 2.0”( 3F 2.0). To educate and guide festivals in Europe, but ultimately also in the rest of the world, Yourope will create six create central publications: Extreme Weather Toolbox( 2025), Fair Ticketing Guide( 2026), Green Festival Navigator Tool( 2027), Diversity, Equity and Inclusion( DEI) Roadmap( 2027), a publication on Crowd Management Competence Levels( 2028), a tool to support Ukraine( 2028).
These publications will help answering the following lead questions: What does the responsible festival of the future look like, and how do we achieve that? What makes European festivals resilient to meet the challenges of the future? How do tomorrow’ s festivals ensure that they continue to play the relevant role in popular culture and the lives of millions of young people? How do we make our festivals resistant to threats and attacks on their foundation & values?
It’ s been a tough few years for many in the festival industry, are you optimistic about the 2026 season and why?
All the discussions and responses from festival promoters from all over Europe at the recent European Festival Conference in Évora have shown me that the spirit, motivation, and love for festivals and creating unforgettable experiences for our attendees is unmatched. This is what keeps us going and makes me very optimistic about the future. Challenges are part of the game and resilience has always been a key competence of festival organisers across the board because there are so many different challenges.
accessaa. co. uk 49