AIF to operate AFO as Steve Heap retires
The UK’s Association of Festival Organisers (AFO) will hand over operation to the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) following the retirement of general secretary Steve Heap.
Heap, who will step down at the beginning of April, has been AFO’s general secretary since its formation in 1987. The organisation currently represents 102 festival and event organisers, with events ranging from 500 to 25,000-plus capacity, while AIF represents 101 UK music festivals, ranging from 500 to 80,000-cap.
Together, the trade bodies will have a collective voice representing 202 festival promoters and events organisers across the UK.
“Since founding AFO in 1987, I have devoted a considerable amount of time, effort and love to the grassroots festival industry,” says Heap. “Members and I have worked together to build a stronger, well-recognised and sustainable future. Retiring from this desk now, after 38 years, is a big tug and I will leave all the ‘thank yous’ to my personal letters later.
“For now and the future, I am delighted to be giving the reins to John Rostron and the team at AIF, where I know AFO members will find support, knowledge, campaigning and unity in this world of festivals. AFO members are creative, conscientious, and resilient, and I believe will embrace this change of management with enthusiasm, leading on to a real recovery and strong, successful season in 2024.”
The AFO and AIF have come together many times in the past to fight for the combined interests of their members, with achievements including negotiating a new reduced festival tariff with PRS for Music; negotiating a reduction on VAT for tickets sales to 5% during Covid; lobbying government for financial support, and leading to the contribution of over a billion pounds from the Cultural Recovery Fund to a variety of arts organisations.
“The UK’s festival sector is depleting at a staggering rate in 2024 and, without government intervention, there is no guarantee that pressures will ease”
“Steve is a legend in the festival world and he’ll be greatly missed as he begins his retirement from AFO,” adds AIF CEO John Rostron. “I’m enormously pleased that his departing gesture is to entrust AFO to myself and the team at AIF. We’ll continue to support AFO members in the way they’ve become accustomed but also bring new opportunities and strength by having so many independent festivals together in one place.
“I’m pleased that I’ll still get time with Steve as he offers his wisdom and support to me and the members as he steps back to enjoy more time in the fields, and less time at a desk.”
Meanwhile, Devon’s Spring Classic festival has become the latest UK festival to cancel this year, with organisers citing spiralling costs.
“Spring Classic festival is the 14th UK festival to cancel, postpone or announce their closure entirely in 2024,” notes Rostron. “Again, reasons of soaring costs for a third consecutive year since the pandemic have meant this popular, well run event can no longer go ahead, despite plenty of personal investment from its organisers.
“The UK’s festival sector is depleting at a staggering rate in 2024 and, without government intervention, there is no guarantee that pressures will ease for promoters in years to come. We again urge people to visit fivepercentforfestivals.com, contact their MP and call for a three year VAT reduction on festival tickets to 5% in order to give festivals the economic respite they need to recover.”
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NEC Birmingham signs up to festival trade bodies
The NEC Birmingham has joined the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) and the Association of Festival Organisers (AFO) as it seeks to explore new opportunities within its events diversification strategy.
The NEC is the UK’s largest exhibition venue, with 18 interconnecting halls in addition to more than 387 acres of hard-standing ground and 59 acres of woodland.
Post-pandemic, the campus has adapted its commercial approach to broaden its festival proposition, staging the 45,000-cap Wireless Festival outdoors with Festival Republic in July last year. It also hosted Slam Dunk Festival in 2014.
“We work closely with many trade bodies across the live music and events industry, contributing to policies, key initiatives and lobbying activity. It is important that we listen to the wants and needs of more event genres as we diversify our offer” says Richard Mann, new business director for the NEC, which also owns ticketing agency The Ticket Factory.
“We are in discussions with festival organisers about events for this year and beyond”
“We’re a large site with big ambitions to bring a greater mix of events to the Midlands. We are in discussions with festival organisers about events for this year and beyond. Our audience database for the NEC and our arenas is comprehensive. The challenge for us is bringing new events to the region which can revitalise the local festival and events landscape.”
AIF CEO John Rostron says the move represents a big addition to the AIF membership.
“Not only does it demonstrate creative thinking from NEC Group, it also points to the value of AIF as a resource to businesses connected to the festival industry, alongside the promoters themselves,” he says. “We look forward to working closely with the NEC, carving new opportunities for both the venue and our festival members, and promoting the interests of the sector more broadly.”
Steve Heap, general secretary of the AFO, adds: “We are delighted that the NEC has joined us. AFO’s credibility has built gradually since we formed in 1987, and we now have more than 150 grassroots festivals, many of whom move sites from year-to-year, that would welcome engagement with the venue. We look forward to working more closely with the NEC as the year progresses and beyond.”
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Attitude is Everything partners with AIF, AFO, BAFA
Live events accessibility charity Attitude is Everything has partnered with the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), the Association of Festival Organisers (AFO) and the British Arts Festival Association (BAFA) to support their memberships to play their part in making 2023 the most accessible summer yet.
Collectively, these organisations represent more than 200 events that attract more than 1m ticket buyers each year. Members include some of the UK’s best-loved music and arts festivals, such as Boardmasters, Boomtown Fair, End of the Road, Cambridge Folk Festival and the BBC Proms.
Under the banner #FestivalsWithoutBarriers, the associations and festivals have been issued with three calls to action in order to help improve the live event experience for, and increase the attendance of, disabled customers:
- Plan to provide quality access information to disabled audiences at the point of tickets going on sale by implementing Attitude is Everything’s Access Starts Online guidance.
- Integrate questions about access requirements into the artist booking process.
- Implement practical changes to make festival workplaces and festival volunteering accessible to disabled people.
Attitude is Everything will support AIF, AFO and BAFA members to implement these actions via their existing Access Starts Online and Accessible Employment Guide publications, alongside the publication of new guidance on inclusive artist booking for festivals and a forthcoming guide to accessible volunteering.
In addition to these resources, the partnership between the four organisations aims to offer members:
- Introductions to Attitude is Everything’s Live Events Access Charter and subsidised Disability Equality Training, delivered in part by participants on the charity’s Future Leaders programme for aspiring disabled event industry professionals.
- A series of symposiums on implementing the four guides.
- Opportunities to learn from the lived experience of disabled audience members, artists and professionals drawn from the charity’s three networks of disabled people.
“The experiences of disabled people over the 2022 festival season appear to have been quite mixed”
On the announcement of the initiative, Suzanne Bull MBE, founder of Attitude is Everything, says: “I see this new partnership between Attitude is Everything, AIF, AFO and BAFA as a powerful force in transforming the industry. The experiences of disabled people over the 2022 festival season appear to have been quite mixed, especially when it comes to availability of pre-event information, booking accessible tickets and the level of access onsite. Working together we will drive through the change necessary to improve access for disabled audiences, artists, employees and volunteers. As a disabled person, I’m looking forward to a stress-free festival season in 2023!”
Paul Reed, outgoing CEO of AIF, adds: “We’re very pleased to expand our long-term partnership with Attitude is Everything on this initiative. It has been seven years since we launched Access Starts Online together and this expands the remit to artists, changes in the workplace and vital training opportunities for AIF members. Accessibility at festivals is truly a cross-sector issue and it’s hugely positive to see our friends at AFO and BAFA also get onboard. Let’s work together to ensure that 2023 is the most accessible year for UK festivals yet.”
Steve Heap, general secretary of AFO, comments: “The Association of Festival Organisers (AFO) has been working alongside Attitude is Everything for some years now in a drive to improve accessibility both in the audience and on stage for deaf and disabled people. The AFO is now very pleased indeed to be sitting with such a powerful and positive organisation that intends to help guide members and increase access and participation in 2023. With 14.6 million people in the UK being disabled there is a vast potential audience that may not be attending festivals for fear of inaccessibility. Here at AFO we are now discovering more and more disabled performers who could form part of our programme and helping our AFO members make their festivals more accessible. We look forward to supporting and working with Attitude is Everything for some years to come.”
Fiona Goh, director of BAFA, says: “British Arts Festivals Association (BAFA) is delighted to be working alongside its sister organisations, AFO and AIF, in helping to make 2023 the most accessible year yet for UK festivals. Our partnership with Attitude is Everything will help guide our members to increase access and participation by disabled audiences, artists and staff, beginning at the point of sale and running right through festival delivery. There’s never been a more important time to ensure that festivals are accessible to all, and we look forward to seeing a more diverse and inclusive audience in our festivals next year.”
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Green Code of Conduct consultation launched
Sustainability initiative Vision:2025 has launched a consultation for a music industry Green Code of Conduct to provide clear, minimum, environmental standards for all UK outdoor events.
The code has been developed by trade bodies including AIF, AFO, NOEA and EIF, as well as organisations such as Festival Republic and Julie’s Bicycle, with support from live event promoters across the UK.
“Developing a code of conduct by the industry for the industry has multiple benefits,” says Chris Johnson, chair of Vision:2025. “It will provide standards for sustainable practices that are credible, realistic, and crucially, workable, for all event organisers. It will bring the clarity, along with national consistency, that stakeholders across the sector are asking for, as we take steps to reduce emissions and impacts as part the industry’s journey to net zero.”
Creating a Green Code of Conduct is a practical and potentially effective step that the industry can take to show leadership and improve standards
The Green Code is a direct response to recommendations made by the select committee on the future of music festivals, in May. It also relates to the framework set out for the wider music sector in the LIVE Green vision, launched earlier this year.
“Creating a Green Code of Conduct is a practical and potentially effective step that the industry can take to show leadership and improve standards,” says Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn.
Steve Heap, general secretary of the AFO, and chair of the Event Industry Forum (EIF), which oversees health and safety publication the Purple Guide, says: “The Purple Guide is an established publication that advises how our industry manages health & safety best practice. This Green Code of Conduct could provide the blueprint for a new sustainability chapter.”
Paul Reed, CEO of the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) adds: “The development of the Green Code of conduct will help AIF members and all outdoor events to manage their impacts and agree on some top-level shared principles. It is vital that we continue to work together as an industry and with government to mitigate impacts and take collective action.”
The online survey is open for comments here until 14 January.
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Working guidance for UK festivals updated
Working guidance for UK festival organisers has been updated to provide ‘support and strategic direction’ in the planning of events until the results of the government’s Events Research Programme (ERP) and reviews on social distancing and Covid-Status Certification later this summer.
The new interim briefing builds upon planning considerations published last year on the Purple Guide website, which covered eight key themes and Covid-19 safety measures including medical and welfare arrangements, crowd considerations and specific mitigation measures.
As well as providing direction until the conclusions of the ERP, the briefing note has been developed to:
- Consider the primary scenarios and operational issues that may arise when planning and delivering an event during Covid restrictions and beyond.
- Provide an understanding of the risks in operational areas to support a proportionate and measured approach in planning.
- Outline practical, operational steps that may be considered to deliver safe events in accordance with relevant legislation of the day.
- Support event organisers and multi-agency partners to fully understand the risk of independent activities to wider public health.
The document has again been produced in conjunction with leading practitioners from the festival industry including the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF); the Association of Festival Organisers (AFO); the Events Industry Forum (EIF), and Attitude Is Everything.
“[This guidance] is an important step in ensuring that festivals can return safely”
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and Public Health England (PHE) also provided input on the development of the guidance, which has been co-authored by Emma Parkinson (Coventry University) and Jennifer Mackley (Mackley Projects and Events Ltd).
“This interim guidance briefing provides strategic direction to festival organisers and includes practical mitigation measures to help them continue to plan for this summer and beyond,” says Paul Reed, CEO of AIF.
“I’d like to thank Emma Parkinson and Jennifer Mackley in particular for their work, and colleagues from across the festival sector and within DCMS and PHE for their contributions to this important step in ensuring that festivals can return safely”.
Steve Heap, general secretary of AFO, added: “Having lost almost all of the industry’s 2020 events, festival organisers are very keen to stage whatever is safely possible over the remainder of this year’s season. To do that, clear guidance is needed. The publication of this document, free to all on the Purple Guide website, provides that guidance, written by experienced festival managers with the leadership of AIF.”
Jim Winship, secretary of the EIF, added: “Festivals form an important part of the outdoor event economy and also contribute significantly to social wellbeing. They also take many forms and this guidance should help to enable at least some festivals to go ahead this summer.”
The guidance is live on The Purple Guide site here.
Additionally, the group is hosting a webinar with various contributors outlining the briefing note and taking questions. Details will be announced shortly on the AIF website here.
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