7th June 2017
A new guide has been published by the Events Industry Forum to help organisers of smaller events comply with regulations and good practice. The new ‘Purple Guide Lite’ is a sister publication to the ‘Purple Guide to Health, Safety and Welfare at Music and Other Events’, which EIF took over from the Health & Safety Executive four years ago. Developed wi...
7th June 2017
Self-employed? Here are details of HMRC's digital support courses for June. HMRC have a selection of webinars and e-learning available to help you get their tax right first time. Business Expenses for the self-employed: Do you know which business expenses are allowable? Find out about typical expenses including working from home and motoring expenses....
26th May 2017
Our sincere condolences to the victims and their families and best wishes for recovery to those injured in Manchester. ?The whole events industry is in shock and immediate events this weekend (May Bank Holiday) are obviously nervous. If you need AFO advice immediately then please call us on 01629 827014/ 07836 212899 and we will help if we can. We will put out collated advice from var...
26th May 2017
When governments declare budgets, usually in March or April they trumpet the important bits and somehow manage to slip through all kinds of tiny changes that affect people at a later date. One of those ‘tiny changes’ introduced by the government as at 22 May 2017 was an increase in Insurance Premium Tax, which has now gone to 12% from 1 June 2017. For example, if your public liab...
25th May 2017
Following the attack in Manchester this week, the Security Industry Authority have released the following statement: The independent Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) has raised the threat level for international terrorism in the UK to CRITICAL. This means that their assessment is not only that an attack remains highly likely but a further attack may be imminent. If you see or hear...
22nd May 2017
Energy Revolution is a festival industry collaboration that turns your fossil-fuel travel miles into a direct investment in renewable energy. Together we can turn millions of miles of travel into clean energy and turn a problem into a solution. Donate when you buy your festival ticket and let’s keep the party going forever. As festival ticket sales are well underway for thi...
22nd May 2017
The White Book contains every event resource in one place, which is why it has been the go-to-guide to the live events industry for more than 30 years. In both print and online, The White Book features full postal addresses, phone numbers and websites for event production services and equipment as well as listing venues in a logical, easy-to-navigate format. So...
18th May 2017
GL events UK, supported by Stand Out, has launched a survey to understand how globalisation will affect the future of the outdoor events sector. The survey, which is available here, covers subjects from procurement policy to politics; how the industry expects to change in the wake of Brexit and the wider effects of increasing globalisation on creativity, regulation and ownership. G...
28th April 2017
Professor Waterson is heard at last! Crackdown on ticket touts as the government ban bulk buying and re-selling has at last happened. The work of Professor Waterson and colleagues at UK Music has finally come home. The Guardian published the following report: Ticket touts face unlimited fines for using 'bots' to buy in bulk Touts who use computer software to harvest ...
27th April 2017
Lee Valley Regional Park Authority have been in contact with the AFO office and they say: "Are you looking for a new outdoor space for your events with great transport links to Central London? Lee Valley Regional Park Authority owns 26 miles of parkland spanning from Ware in Hertfordshire down to the River Thames. Within the park, there are a selection of 11 designated event spaces availab...
26th April 2017
With the weather warming up, many outdoor types will be looking to pitch their tent in the countryside or set out on the open road in their caravan. Whether it be for a holiday or to wile away the weekend at a music festival, safety experts at UK Power Networks, which delivers electricity to the East of England, London and the South East, are warning campers to ‘Look out and look up&rsquo...
14th April 2017
Don’t panic, organisers of events and professional firework people still allowed. This is a revision to Section 134 in the Police and Crime Act 2017 now referring to the possession of pyrotechnic articles at musical events. AFO is delighted that this has been extended from sports to the events industry. The revision is now in place. However, what about lantern parades? Perh...
29th March 2017
The Association of Festival Organisers (AFO) and Powerful Thinking have developed this factsheet to provide inspiration for small events organisers who wish to reduce environmental impacts associated with their power usage. The AFO is a membership group of like-minded festival and event managers who believe in learning and teaching, sharing and networking to cont...
28th March 2017
Donald Trump Says It Isn’t Happening and Has Taken Sustainability Off the White House Website!! It is expected that by 2050 much of the UK coastal areas will be underwater. “Would you agree that we all have a duty to try and halt this erosion and leave a better world for our grandchildren to continue running festivals and events?” Who is responsible for sustainability at...
24th March 2017
NOEA has released the following statement after the attack in Westminster on Wednesday: For those of you who haven’t heard of the TIER Group, it is the Tourism Industry Emergency Response Group co-ordinated by VisitBritain and is convened when events occur that have significant implications for the UK tourism industry. The group links into COBRA via DCMS. As such, a meeting was held to to...
15th March 2017
The new and updated Powerful Thinking Guide provides event professionals with up-to-date knowledge and practical resources to help manage temporary energy smartly, reducing environmental impacts and fuel bills. It is created from a collection of modular resources, factsheets and case studies that are also available online. This edition is European in focus, reflecting both the progress being ...
14th March 2017
If you are registered for VAT are you charging your traders, caterers and market stalls the right amount? HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) wants their share of the cake. HMRC VAT office has made a ruling, supported by a test case in English courts, resulting in the need to charge VAT at the standard rate (currently 20% of total figure at March 2017) on rent and concession/tender rate...
9th March 2017
Mash Media, publishers of Access All Areas and other event industry magazines, announced on 1 March its newest product: The Festival & Outdoor Events Show. The new exhibition will take place on 27-28 September 2017 at Sandown Park Racecourse. It aims to provide business opportunities, education and networking to the outdoor events industry. Speaking at the Event Production...
9th March 2017
The live and outdoor events industry celebrated well into the night last week at the Event Production Awards, cheering on a host of well-deserved winners. The Ticket Factory, Ascot Structures, Quantum Special Effects, The Loop and Continental Drifts were among the night’s winners. Arena Group ended up as the biggest winners at the ceremony, with its company Arena Structures collecting ...
4th March 2017
AFO is delighted to be able to offer to membership advice on “the money”. Our good friends at APS Accountancy in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire and Dunstable, Bedfordshire are offering a similar service to that of Jon Payne at LSL Solicitors. i.e. an email enquiry could deliver by return a simple answer to your question on financial matters. Over and above that, APS i...
