16th May 2022
Many of the AFO festival members get ticket requests and purchases from people who attend alone. You might call them solo visitors. Have you ever thought that getting all those people together in a special space for a chat, networking, sharing of thoughts, might be useful for them and each other. Take the example of Costa del Folk in Spain and Portugal. They have solo travellers meetings. AFO is...
16th May 2022
Our friends at Attitude is Everything have now updated their Live Events Access Charter to bring together all the knowledge and best practice advice developed by AIE since its early engagement with the music industry twenty years ago. It is designed to guide venue and events organisers through a wide range of topics and ultimately enable the achievement of bronze, silver, gold and platinum a...
10th May 2022
Many readers will be well aware of the Purple Guide and its immense value to the outdoor events and festival industry. It has been some years in the care of the Events Industry Forum overseen by the Health and Safety Executive. However, we all learnt a lot during the pandemic and a good deal of the information gathered has now led to a review of the chapters within the Guide. The chapters ...
10th May 2022
The UN is respected and listened to. The UN Secretary General is quite clear in the message. Now play your part and leave behind a planet on which our children can run amazing festivals. Do nothing and your grand children will ask why you did nothing . ...
4th May 2022
Just as you can become physically unwell, mental ill health can strike at any time and can affect anyone. Sign up for one of the FREE MHFA courses and learn to recognise the warning signs and develop the skills and confidence to approach and support someone while keeping yourself safe. For more details and to sign up for an MHFA course / AJ bursary criteria click here and help support your indust...
4th May 2022
Early 2022 saw the Event Production Show produced and managed by Mash Media/Access All Areas lead the way in exhibiting for our industry, innovation and conferencing. Held at London’s Excel Centre in Docklands, hundreds of organisers from the festival and events industry gathered for what was a jampacked two days of trading and conferencing. Speakers on the platforms include...
28th April 2022
Family and friends of TV presenter Caroline Flack have revealed details of Flackstock – a one-day festival to celebrate Caroline’s life with comedy, dance, and musical acts this summer. Sponsored by McDonald’s, Flackstock will take place in the grounds of Englefield, the Elizabethan House and estate near Pangbourne in Berkshire on July 25. With a committee i...
28th April 2022
Eventa, has launched Festiva, an “ultimate family festival experience”, that will arrive in Great Harwood, East Lancashire on August 13 and 14, 2022. Taking place at Great Harwood Showground, the two-day event will feature music tribute acts and artists, an entertainment programme for kids including a circus and fairground rides, inflatables, and a food, beer and cocktails arena ...
28th April 2022
Calls for support from the government, the public and music, health and social care sectors to turn its recommendations into action. Music for Dementia and UK Music have joined forces to publish a new report which outlines a blueprint to use music to help improve the nation’s health and wellbeing. The report also spells out the support needed from a variety of sectors to ensure its recommen...
28th April 2022
Proper is honoured to be receiving one of the UK’s most prestigious business accolades. They have been awarded for outstanding growth in overseas sales in the International Trade category; following recommendation by the Prime Minister and approval by Her Majesty The Queen. "We are one of only 141 companies recognized by The Queen’s Award in 2022. PMD’s exports increased by 85% ...
28th April 2022
Hello members and all My last General Secretary Writes took us up to about 18 March. I will pick up later with what has been going on since then. For now, here are a few news items. Red Diesel. We have talked about this quite a lot in recent months, but just as a reminder as we get started on the 2022 season, red diesel is no longer allowed in your generators, for those of you who u...
27th April 2022
Aims and Objectives: To include sustainability in the contract between the agent and the promotor to create a level playing field & drive change Apply lessons learnt from HSE rollout in UK & North America Define what sustainability means & how is it applied Venues must have or set commitment date to move to renewable energy, have shore power and distribution for buses and trucks ...
26th April 2022
isla has launched TRACE, a purpose-built carbon measurement platform dedicated to the event industry. Developed to give insight into the environmental impact of event operations, TRACE captures and reports emission and waste data from live, hybrid and digital events. The TRACE platform is designed for event agencies, exhibition organisers, brands and in-house teams. The mission behind TRACE ...
22nd April 2022
TODAY IS EARTH DAY So what will you do TODAY to help get this ball back on track?? Will you join a demonstration, will you recycle your cardboard box or anything in between? Will you walk to the shop rather than drive your car, will you get your bike out of the shed, will only boil the water you need? Will you turn off the heating (it’s spring!), will you stop printing emails you don&rsqu...
21st April 2022
Some time ago member, Rebecca (Fluff) Stewart, Cambridge Folk Festival, stepped forward to lead an AFO EDI Group. However, at the same time Live Music was also forming its own EDI Group and it was generally decided that we should combine our efforts. Fluff has now attended a few LIVE EDI Group meetings and reports that the meetings are not always most productive but certainly raise the prof...
7th April 2022
London, UK- April 7, 2022 – Bakers Basco, the membership scheme set up by Allied Bakeries, Fine Lady Bakeries, Frank Roberts & Sons, Hovis and Warburtons to provide and manage an industry-wide bakery equipment solution and the AFO are calling out to the events industry and caterers to raise awareness of misplaced bakery equipment that often ends up left behind on sites at the end o...
7th April 2022
In January, Attitude Is Everything joined together with Independent Venue Week (IVW) to launch new guidance as well as a training programme aimed at helping live promoters to increase accessibility and to enable Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent talent to thrive on the live circuit. The Just Ask Campaign seeks to ensure that all artists and crew members are given the...
5th April 2022
There is always plenty of research going on and I know it can be tedious completing surveys and questionnaires. However the information gathered from these is very valuable indeed. It is the way government make decisions both local and national and they base it on facts, figures and information. So, the recent Eventbrite Trends Report of 2022 made for a very interesting read. I agree ...
5th April 2022
Wiltshire Council is running a soft market test exercise (SMT), to explore future options to remobilise the City Hall entertainment venue in Salisbury. This process will help inform how Wiltshire Council will progress future options for the venue. The aim of the SMT is to: Gather information to support the council’s decision-making process in any next steps and will only be used for rese...
29th March 2022
Readers will remember that the Department of Culture, Media and Sport announced a government organised reinsurance scheme linked to the pandemic. DCMS have now conducted a Spring Review and made some minor changes to the systems and procedures. If anyone is interested this can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/live-events-reinsurance-scheme...
