The double winner of the UK Festival Awards – Derbyshire’s Y-Not Festival – received the awards for both ‘The Grass Roots Festival Award’ (in association with ID&C) and ‘Best Toilets’ (In association with Shewee), having expanded from a gathering of sixth form pupils to three stages and more than 30 bands. These awards were announced at the Festival Conference.

Folk music and dance promoter Steve Heap was honoured with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his services to the festival industry.  Steve Heap has been Director of Mrs Casey Music for over 30 years.  Mrs Casey Music is a specialist promotion company that organises folk/roots festivals and events such as Towersey Festival attracting 10,000 people per year, Sidmouth International Festival (65,000 people), and more recently Big Session Festival and other events at venues including regular promotion at London’s South Bank Centre.

In the Events Industry, Steve specialises in Community Arts Events in the size of 1,000 to 10,000 people in either green field sites or indoor venues. He is a leading member of the Events Industry Forum and a regular contributor to Arts & Events Industry Publications including the Purple Guide.

He is Director of The Association Festival Organisers (AFO) a body of some 200 Festivals that promotes supports and lobbies on its members behalf.  AFO hold and annual conference that attracts some 260 delegates from the Events Industry.

From headlining the BBC Introducing tent at Glastonbury, to performances at Reading Festival, Bestival and Jersey Live festival, Ed Sheeran was named ‘Best Breakthrough Artist’ (in association with Brothers Cider), beating off competition from Bruno Mars, Jessie J and The Vaccines.

‘Headline Performance of the Year’ (in association with Jagermeister) went to Paolo Nutini at Latitude Festival whose set was strewn with hits including ‘These Streets’ and ‘New Shoes’, pipping the likes of Metallica, Magnetic Man and Chase & Status to the post. Chase & Status didn’t go home empty-handed however as they were honoured with the award for ‘Anthem of the Summer’ for ‘Blind Faith’ – the No.1 UK dance single taken from the No More Idols album.

Rob Da Bank’s masterstroke Bestival was honoured in a brand new category for 2011: ‘Fan’s Favourite Festival’. The sold-out festival played host to some of the biggest names in music this year including Bjork, The Cure, PJ Harvey, Brian Wilson and Public Enemy.

This year the categories for ‘Best Major’ / ‘Medium’ / ‘Small’ Festival, ‘Best Metropolitan’ Festival, ‘Best New’ Festival, ‘Best Family’ Festival, and ‘Best Toilets’ were decided upon by a judging panel of journalists and experienced reviewers, who packed their tents and donned their best festival outfits throughout the summer to pass their esteemed judgment and critiques.

Crowned winner for ‘Best Major Festival’ (in association with The Ticket Factory) was the almighty Glastonbury, whose headline performances from Beyonce, U2 and Coldplay stole the headlines over the summer. ‘Best Medium-sized Festival’ went to Secret Garden Party, the fiercely independent festival which this year featured acts including Marcus Foster, Yasmin, Leftfield and Ghostpoet. End of The Road was honoured with ‘Best Small Festival’ (in association with Doodson); the North Dorset event saw live sets from Laura Marling, Joanna Newsom, Mogwai this summer.

Sheffield’s Tramlines beat off competition from The Great Escape, Dot to Dot and Gaymer’s Camden Crawl to be crowned ‘Best Metropolitan Festival’.

‘Best New Festival’ (in association with Access All Areas) went to Wilderness, a new ‘celebration of the arts and outdoors’ in Oxfordshire, which The Observer described as a ‘bohemian haven’. ‘Best Family Festival’ (in association with Showsec) went to Beautiful Days – after five years shortlisted for the title!

‘Best Dance Event’ (in association with Peppermint Bars) went to Creamfields, with this year’s event boasting hot favourites Chemical Brothers, Katy B and Kissy Sell Out. Croatia’s Outlook was honoured with ‘Best Overseas Festival’.

‘Line-Up of the Year’ in association with XL Video was awarded to Sonisphere, for an immense bill, which saw the Big Four – Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth unite for what most fans described as heavy metal heaven.

Steve Strange was named ‘Agent of the Year’ (in association with IQ and Secret Productions were given the title of ‘Promoter of the Year’ (in association with Virtual Festivals).

The following were announced during the day at the Festival Conference: The Beat Hotel (‘Concession of the Year’), Shambala (‘The Greener Festival Award’ in association with Robertson Taylor and agreenerfestival.com), Capitalize – Bacardi (‘Best Sponsor Activation in association with Field Marketing and Brand Experience’), Bearded Kitten (‘The Extra-Festival Activity Award’ in association with Music Week), The Event Safety Shop (‘Outstanding Contribution to Festival Production’ in association with TPi).

James Drury, Managing Director of Festival Awards Ltd said: “Hundreds of thousands of votes were cast for over the 200 events which took part across the UK, demonstrating just how passionate people are about festivals.

“The Festival Awards is all about recognising the hard work everyone in the industry puts in – and sharing the thanks and love from the public for those efforts. Everyone involved – not just the winners – should be rightly proud of what they’ve achieved in a year has been more challenging than others.

“This is the best-attended Festival Awards we’ve had, with almost 1,000 people from across the industry coming together to celebrate the world-leading scene we have in the UK.”

The UK Festival Awards were preceded by the Festival Conference, which took place earlier in the day. Topics discussed included: maintaining customer loyalty, social commerce, the issues stemming from terrible weather, and sport vs music sponsorship in the year of the Olympics. The Conference also featured an exclusive Q&A with Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn.

We have a limited number of Mezzanine level tickets, and UK Festival Conference passes remaining – but hurry, as they’re going quickly!

To buy tickets click here to visit The Ticket Factory

Hosting this year’s event will be festival favourites The Cuban Brothers plus closing the ceremony we will have a very special performance from the legendary John Cooper Clarke.

In a change to the traditional UKFA format we’re also going to have two of the hottest new comedians on the circuit, Trevor Lock and Luke Benson.

Tickets for this year’s event have nearly sold out however if you’re quick there are some tables still available. Last year’s event sold out a week before doors opened.

Doors for the event will open at 6.30pm with an amazing 3 course gourmet dinner served from 7pm. The award ceremony itself will begin at 9pm and run until the early hours.

Dress code: Dress to impress!

Get a sneak peak at what we’ve got coming up…

The shortlists have been drawn up by panels of experts in each sector, who carefully considered their category to decided who should make the final lists.

The results are:

Agent of the Year in association with IQ
Ben Winchester (Primary Talent International)
Charlie Myatt (13 Artists)
Emma Banks (CAA)
Geoff Meall (The Agency Group)
Jeff Craft (X-Ray Touring)
Martin Horne (X-Ray Touring)
Mike Greek (CAA)
Paul Bolton (X-Ray Touring)
Peter Elliott (Primary Talent International)
Rob Challice (CODA)
Russell Warby (William Morris Endeavour Entertainment)
Solomon Parker (William Morris Endeavour Entertainment)
Steve Strange (X-Ray Touring)
Tom Schroeder (CODA)

Best Sponsor Activation in association with Field Marketing and Brand Experience
Cake – Orange Chill ‘n’ Charge
Capitalize – Bacardi
FRUKT Communications – Southern Comfort Juke Joint
SBH Events – Volvo at Snowbombing
TRO – Lucozade

The Extra Festival Activity Award in association with Music Week
Arcadia (Glastonbury, Lovebox, Bestival, Boomtown Fair)
Bearded Kitten (Collosillyum at Secret Garden Party, Campo Pequeno at Glastonbury, Highland Games at Rockness)
Pirate Technics (Burning art. Seen at Glade, Secret Garden Party, Green Man, Shambala)
Videopia (Interactive movie-making. Seen at: Latitude, Secret Garden Party, Camp Bestival, Playgroup, Boomtown, Green Man, End of the Road, Bestival)

Concession of the Year Award
Bhatti Wraps
Chai Wallahs
Moorish
The Beat Hotel – Glastonbury
The Fire in the Hole (aka Pizza to the People)

The winners will be announced on 15 November.

Will Bestival do it again? Find out on November 15th!

Voting in the 2011 UK Festival Awards is now closed. The winners will be annonuced at the gala ceremony at the Roundhouse, London, on the evening of Tuesday 15th November. Tickets for the event are on course for another sell-out so if you want to be there, buy nowto avoid disappointment.

The winner of the Dream Summer competition will be contacted no later than 01 December.

Thanks to everyone who made a difference by voting in this year’s awards.

Voting in this year’s European Festival Awards opens on 21st October.

Now it’s approaching time for public voting to to open for Fan’s Favourite Festival, as well as Best Overseas Festival, Headline Performance Of the Year, Best Breakthrough Artist and Anthem of the Summer.

Running from Friday, 16 September until 10 October, voting will be in just one phase. There will not be a second round of shortlist voting. Finalists and winners will be announced at the UK Festival Awards ceremony at London’s Roundhouse on Tuesday, 15 November.

A concerted marketing campaign by Festival Awards Ltd including advertising, media engagement, social media campaign and email shots will drive up awareness and the number of fans voting in the Awards. Feel free to get in touch with us at @festival_awards or on our Facebook page.

To incentivise voters, a Dream Summer prize draw to win two tickets to every winning festival at the Festival Awards is offered. Festivals taking part in the Awards should not offer any other prizes as incentives to vote, in order to ensure a level playing field for all events.

Voting assets, such as website buttons and email will be sent to all festivals which have put themselves forward to be considered in the Awards by Thursday, 15 September.

While we ask voters to submit their email address, this is purely to enable us to contact the winner of the Dream Summer prize and to prevent multiple votes by people. Festivals can be asured that we do not sell or pass these email addresses to anyone.

Over 200 UK festivals are taking part in this year’s Awards, which is up on last year and demonstrates the vibrancy of the market, despite some challenging economic conditions.

If you have any questions, see www.festivalawards.com or email info@festivalawards.com.

Tickets for the 2011 UK Festival Awards and Conference on 15 November are on sale now. The Conference takes place at the HMV Forum, while the Awards will be at the legendary Roundhouse in Camden. Last year’s events sold out weeks in advance and tickets for the 2011 Awards and Conference are already selling quickly.

To buy tickets click here

Panel discussions at the UK Festival Conference will present and debate the latest thinking and business insight in addition to reviewing the year’s key achievements and challenges. Following the success of last year’s sold-out event, there will be further focus on the most important issues in the industry, plus extended and expanded networking opportunities.

Exclusive to the 2011 UK Festival Conference will be a presentation of the UK Festival Market Report – a business review of the market, incorporating results from Festival Awards’ newly-commissioned exclusive market research of festival-goers’ opinions.

The survey will be conducted by a global market research agency and will be the most accurate study of audience habits ever undertaken.

Festival Awards Ltd MD James Drury, said: “Since it was launched four years ago, the UK Festival Conference has become a focal point for discussion of key issues and an opportunity to review the season just passed. The pace of change in the industry makes it one of the most exciting in the world, and the determination to keep improving is inspirational. I’m looking forward to insightful discussions on the back of a year of new challenges.”

The Conference takes place at the HMV Forum in London, and will feature six panel sessions featuring experts in their relevant fields. Sessions confirmed so far:

Weather – Or Not (in association with TPi)

2011’s stage collapse tragedies have reminded everyone that bad weather can be sudden, vicious and lethal. It’s not the first year that the elements have played their part in fatalities; perhaps we need to learn our lessons a little faster. Is it the structures themselves at fault, or perhaps the decision-making process? A panel of organisers, staging companies, enforcers and insurers will debate the issues and uncover answers.

From Online to Onsite – How Social Commerce Can Boost Your Business (in association with Music Mind Exchange)

Despite festivals deploying social media to communicate with fans, not many take full advantage of the sales opportunities on offer on sites such as Facebook. Social media commerce experts will present the possibilities and advise how to get even more out of online for a festival.

Keeping Up Appearances (in association with LIVE UK)

How can festivals secure the loyalty of their festival-goers in a sector that is awash with a huge variety of events covering all genres of music? The panel will examine the ways organisers are adapting to the potential saturation of the marketplace and key survival tips to make a festival stand out from its competition.

Keynote Q&A – Melvin Benn (in association with IQ)

One of the greatest festival promoters in the world, the MD of Festival Republic (behind Reading, Leeds, Latitude, The Big Chill, Ireland’s Electric Picnic, Norway’s Hove, Germany’s Berlin Festival and new US venture Orlando Calling), licensee of Glastonbury and Chairman of Wembley Stadium, will share his views on the UK festival industry.

In addition to these sessions, the UK Festival Conference will feature a dedicated networking and exhibition lobby, a drinks reception and an exclusive copy of the UK Festival Report.

Combined tickets for the UK Festival Awards and the UK Festival Conference are on sale now from www.theticketfactory.com/ukfa/online.

NOMINATIONS ARE now open for the Best Overseas Festival category at the 2011 UK Festival Awards, and festival organisers can now submit their events to be considered for this year’s celebration of the best festivals.

The deadline for entries is September 5, 2011.

Festivals will need to fill out a short application form and we’ll do the rest!

To submit your festival,  click here for the application form

For further information, email info@festivalawards.com

Gareth Cooper of Snowbombing collects his Best Overseas Festival Award in 2010

For the first time, Festival Awards has included disabled access as part of the Judging Criteria used to ascertain this year’s winners.

In addition, Festival Republic’s Managing Director Melvin Benn has provided a £1,000 bursary for Access and Disability Equality Training to the winner of the Best Grassroots Festival award at the UK Festival Awards. This will provide the opportunity for smaller or younger festivals to address the requirements of Deaf and disabled festival-goers, performers and staff.

Benn said: “At Festival Republic events we want everyone to be able to participate, feel safe, and be part of the crowd and we work closely with Attitude Is Everything to achieve this. I am very pleased to be funding the first Access training bursary to the future winners of the Grassroots Festival Award so they will be able to benefit from this invaluable support.”

James Drury, Managing Director of UK Festival Awards said: “Grassroots festivals are real labours of love created on very tight budgets, so the chance to get vital advice and training from the experts at Attitude is Everything, thanks to the generosity of Festival Republic, will be really valuable for the winner of our Grassroots Festival Award.

“Access for Deaf and disabled people is an important criterion that our judges look out for when visiting festivals. I feel proud that Attitude is Everything chose our Awards to distribute this bursary.”

Suzanne Bull, Chief Executive Officer, Attitude is Everything said: “The fact that the UK Festival Awards has included Access as a criteria this year is a major breakthrough in making sure that the music industry continues to meet the requirements of their Deaf and disabled customers, as well as raising the general public’s awareness of the issues that Deaf and disabled people face at music festivals across the UK.

“I’m delighted that, thanks to the foresight and the generosity of Melvin Benn at Festival Republic, we are able to offer one of our training bursaries to a new, small festival. It means that this festival with have the opportunity to sign to our Charter of Best Practice and have all the support it needs to improve Deaf and disabled people’s access to its festival.”

Continuing a successful summer for AiE, a partnership project with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, every festival that takes place on Victoria Park now has to adhere to Attitude is Everything’s Charter of Best Practice as an “Event Standard”.  The Local Authority also provided funding to the organisers to train staff and for Deaf and disabled volunteers to assess their events from a Disability Access perspective.   As a result, High Voltage, Field Day, Lovebox, Under Age, The Apple Cart and LED – London Electronic Dance – festivals have signed up to the Charter  and pledged to improve accessibility to Deaf and disabled music lovers.

Attitude is Everything’s Charter of Best Practice was created in 2000 to assist the music industry in understanding the requirements of Deaf and disabled people at music venues and festivals, building equality into the strategic thinking for events, and fostering a culture of proactively providing an equal experience for disabled people.

Divided into three levels – Bronze, Silver and Gold – each one has conditions that must be fulfilled.

Venues and festivals that sign up to the Charter of Best Practice also thereby agree to be ‘mystery shopped’ by Attitude is Everything’s team of Deaf and disabled gig-goers and musicians, who give feedback on each live music event visited.  This feedback enables Attitude is Everything to assess how accessible live music venues and festivals are, as well as examining how they are managed from a customer’s perspective. This information is fed back to managers so that they can make improvements.  Attitude is Everything also offer Disability Equality Training and undertake Access Audits to advise on changes that may be required.

More information about the Awards can be found in the navigation bar above