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Issue 39 April 2010 £4.75
Twinning boost for leading UK festivals By Christina Eccles THE UK’S leading independent festivals could benefit from artist exchanges, increased levels of PR coverage and possible new investment thanks to a project launched by the Association of Independent Festivals. AIF – whose members include Camp Bestival, Creamfields and Field Day – has created a twinning programme, giving its events the chance to partner with their international counterparts. Those taking part will help to promote their twin locally, be encouraged to take part in artist exchanges and talent discussions and include links on their website to their twin’s site and in their PR campaigns. Ben Turner – director of Bestival and AIF co founder – told The Main Event that organisers were encouraged to approach festivals with similar characteristics to their own event and Bestival immediately thought of Melt in Germany – which is already proving to be a successful partnership. And Ben said successful twinning could lead to long term partnerships and many benefits for both the UK festivals and their international ‘twins’. He said: “The idea came from
Summer Sundae organiser Rob Challice and everyone got inspired by it very quickly. “AIF stands for the more creative and culturally rich festivals and this is very much about us mirroring what we are with events around the world. There are a lot of interesting ways the events can work together. I would like to see branded stages at each other’s events and talent bookings are also an important part. It is down to each festival to drive it as hard as they want.” After a successful partnership last year with VisitBritain, which allowed European visitors to enjoy its member festivals at a reduced price, AIF is also hoping to renew the deal this year. And Ben added the twinning campaign is another way of forging links with other countries and marketing UK festivals to an international audience. He added: “Our ethos is very much about co-operation and sharing experiences. This is a very positive way of working by increasing the UK’s links with the rest of the world through festivals.” Other festivals partnered include the Big Session Festival with Tønder Festival, Denmark and the Glade Festival, with Symbiosis Gathering in California.
Investor pulls out of festival THE Magic Loungeabout festival has been cancelled after the event’s main investor pulled out. The festival was due to take place this summer at Broughton Hall in North Yorkshire but organisers were forced to pull the plug after failing to secure other funding. A statement from event promoter Simon Adamson on the festival’s website said: “Our main investor has pulled out on us which leaves us with a funding gap. Despite recent efforts to find other sources it became clear that we would run out of time. “We feel it would be unfair to our customers not be upfront about this and we want to give you plenty of time to make alternative arrangements to entertain yourselves over the summer.” The statement went on to say the festival will be back in 2011 and all ticketholders will be given a full refund and be entitled to a 25 per cent discount on tickets for next year’s event. A festival on the Isle of Man has secured a weekend of high profile headliners to perform at the event. Lemar, The Saturdays, JLS and Calvin Harris are among the acts lined up to play the Isle of Man Bay Festival after organisers saw a gap in the market for a music festival on the island. To find out how plans are going for the festival see Page 6
The Main Event is the official magazine of the National Outdoor Events Association