22nd October 2021
General Secretary Writes – October 2021 Part 2 Since I last wrote with my diary entries up to 8 October there has been quite a lot going on, but we should open by sadly noting the passing of Paddy Maloney, the Chieftains founder member. Paddy Maloney was piper, whistle player, manager of band. Born in 1938 he grew up in Donnycarney in the northern part of county Dublin. ...
12th October 2021
I wrote to you last on 24 September and was planning to write again after two or three weeks but there is so much going on that the file is getting a bit bulky so here it is: Mobile Ordering Apps Technology is charging along at a rapid pace and apps that can be adapted to the festival and events industry are now commonplace. For example, NOQ is built with events and venues in mind all...
6th October 2021
Plans have been announced for a partly crowd-funded Festival of Europe UK in 2022. The aim is to show the world that the United Kingdom is still an active part of Europe and open to mutually enriching experiences, learning and friendship. The website with a crowdfunder link has been set up to generate initial seed funding. The festival will host a full programme of events during the summe...
1st October 2021
More exciting speakers added to Event Buyers Live’s content programme In less than two months’ time, Stand Out Multimedia, the organiser of Event Buyers Live, will welcome live event organisers and suppliers to EMCC and Orchard Hotel for intense meetings, networking, and education. Building on the success of the 2019 event, which facilitated pre-arranged meetings between...
29th September 2021
The first Vision: 2025 conference for two years will take place in person at Newbury Showground, 20th October 2021. In the run up to COP26, the ‘Journey to Net Zero’ conference will bring together trail-blazers from the world of outdoor event sustainability to share knowledge, working practices and look at new products and services to support organisers and suppliers tackling en...
24th September 2021
Since I last wrote my diary back at the beginning of September, once again it has been a very busy time around the AFO office. Here are a few snippets of information that has been gathered, along with my diary report. In response to Business Rates proposals - government recently asked LIVE some very specific questions as part of their consultation on work towards longer term support. ...
24th September 2021
The website is constantly being updated and we need some more information from you to make your profile active in several areas. It’s really important that your profile is kept up to date to stay active. Festival members - please provide: The name of the event – some of you registered under your name which prevents the event from showing as a member A website address w...
23rd September 2021
UK EVENTS SUMMIT, MANCHESTER Major Events International (MEI)'s 4th UK Events Summit, in partnership with the Women’s Sport's Alliance Global Summit and in association with Cube International will be held at the Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester on the 15 December 2021 At a time of significant challe...
23rd September 2021
Vision: 2025 launch the 2021 Event Industry Green Survey The annual Event Industry Green Survey is now live, launched by the Vision: 2025 industry climate action group in partnership with the Association of Festival Organisers (AFO) and the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) The survey asks event organisers about environmental measures in place, challenges, and plans for the fu...
15th September 2021
Get your diaries out #eventprofs. Event Buyers Live 2021 will take place from November 29 – December 1 at De Vere EMCC and Orchard Hotel. The place to do business Event Buyers Live facilitates pre-arranged one-on-one meetings between live event organisers and suppliers. Branded as, “The place to do business” the networking, pre-arranged appointments and educatio...
10th September 2021
As I write the sun has come out again (perhaps to shine brightly on Bromyard). Could be early signs of an Indian Summer or maybe just a warm spell to welcome the autumn. Whatever, it is very welcome and for those late season festivals that are taking place over the next week to ten days, you could well be in for some gorgeous weather. With Towersey sadly having to be postponed and g...
9th September 2021
It appears the staging company that should have supplied WICKHAM and LAKEFEST has got serious financial difficulties. If any festival hears of ZAC COUPE or “STAGED” offering their services you should first contact AFO office....
8th September 2021
"Twinwood 2021 lived up to everything we hoped it would, and more. We just want to say a massive THANK YOU to all of our incredible festival-goers for staying with us through all of the difficulties of the last 18 months. There are no words for how joyous it was to see all of Twinwood coming together again, after all this time. From our audience, to our artists, to all of our producti...
3rd September 2021
It’s the British thing to comment on the weather and I must say that I am a bit disappointed that our garden table has not been uncovered very often in the last few weeks. I am looking forward to what my grandma used to call an Indian Summer and hoping we can have some warmer weather before autumn hits us for real. For those of you running festivals, dealing with Covid issues ...
25th August 2021
AUDOO PARTNERS WITH THE FEATURED ARTIST COALITION TO DELIVER UNPARALLELED REAL WORLD MUSIC DATA TO THE MUSIC COMMUNITY. The FAC welcomes music-tech company Audoo to their community of creators, as they commit their support to the mission of revolu...
20th August 2021
Who needs to isolate? It has been brought to our attention that some local authorities and public health advisors are interpreting rules, regulations and recommendations in different ways. This has been going on for some time and it is very difficult to keep tabs on everything. It is fair to say that at a recent meeting DCMS made it quite clear that Covid regulations and restrictions ...
16th August 2021
If I was to say it has been slightly quieter for a few days I hope I am not tempting fate. 29 July I visited the last day of As You Like It, a small boutique concert festival near Stratford upon Avon (sold out, very successful), and helped dismantle the event over the next day. 3 August Arts Council open zoom meeting reference long-term strategy. I have written up some notes from the m...
6th August 2021
WE SUPPORT YOU SO THAT YOU CAN SUPPORT US SO THAT WE CAN SUPPORT YOU I have attended dozens of DCMS Festival Group meetings during this last 18 months of the Covid Crisis. There is often lots of talk about rock and pop festivals, especially big ones. I fly the flag for grass roots festivals, often less than 5000 capacity, and could do with a bit more evidence that you exist.&nbs...
6th August 2021
Government-backed insurance scheme to give boost to events industry The live events sector is set to get a boost with a world-leading government-backed insurance scheme worth over £750 million, which will help them plan events with confidence through to next year, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak will announce today. As the economy reopens with the lifting of Covid res...
5th August 2021
“It was quite amazing and the feedback from customers has been wonderful” said Festival Director Emma Holling. “An overwhelming sense that the team have managed to pull of something quite special and we’ve received a lot of thanks from workers who have been able to practice their trade or musicians able to perform in front of an audience, for a very long time. Our...
