The return of Linkin Park has dominated the latest round of European festival confirmations for 2025.

As revealed last week, the US rock band’s revamped lineup, which features Emily Armstrong as co-vocalist alongside original member Mike Shinoda, will headline a raft of the continent’s leading events.

Rock For People (11-14 June) in the Czech Republic boasts the group alongside acts including Slipknot, Fontaines D.C., Idles, In Flames, Motionless in White, Poppy, Skrillet and Spiritbox.

“I never would have thought that we would have the artist who is the most ‘hot name’ globally for the season at Rock for People and we would be one of the first select festivals to get the band,” says festival founder Michal Thomes. “I couldn’t have dreamed up a better way to celebrate Rock for People’s 30th birthday.”

Linkin Park will also perform at Italy’s I-Days on 24 June, which has also announced headline shows by Justin Timberlake (2 June), Dua Lipa (7 June) and Olivia Rodrigo (15 July) so far.

Austria’s Novarock (11-14 June) will include Korn, Linkin Park, Slipknot and Electric Callboy, backed by the likes of Falling in Reverse, Knocked Loose, The Warning, Rise Against, In Flames, Motionless in White, Powerwolf, SDP, Lorna Shore, Flogging Molly, Biffy Clyro, Refused, Wanda, Dream Theater, Alligatoah, Idles and Skillet.

“Basement Jaxx are the ultimate festival act”

Belgium’s Rock Werchter‘s headliner lineup is now completed, comprising Linkin Park, Green Day, Sam Fender and Olivia Rodrigo from 3-6 July.

And the updated bill at Poland’s Open’er (2-5 July) stars Linkin Park, Justice, Rüfüs Du Sol and St Vincent.

Elsewhere, the UK has seen another flurry of festival announcements, headed by Download (13-15 June). Alongside headliners Green Day, Sleep Token and Korn, more than 90 other acts have been unveiled including Weezer, Bullet For my Valentine, Jimmy Eat World, Don Broco, Spiritbox, the Sex Pistols ft. Frank Turner, Within Temptation, The Darkness, Steel Panther, Cradle of Filth and McFly.

In addition, Basement Jaxx return to the live stage for the first time in a decade to close, joining Sting, Snow Patrol and Fatboy Slim in headlining Latitude Festival (24-27 July).

“Basement Jaxx are the ultimate festival act,” says festival director Melvin Benn. “Their performances are a whirlwind of energy, packed with euphoric pop anthems, dazzling visuals, and a vibrant cast of musicians, singers, and dancers. Anyone who has witnessed their blistering performance of Where’s Your Head At? during a headline set at Glastonbury will know exactly what I mean. Having them close Latitude’s Friday night is the perfect way to kickstart the weekend.”

The dance music pioneers will also play a headline show at South Facing in Crystal Palace Park on 23 August.

“Roundhouse Three Sixty will see world-class artists, emerging talent and young people from every walk of life come together for one month”

Elsewhere, Raye is the latest All Points East headliner to be confirmed, topping the Victoria Park bill that same date.

Also in London, music and culture festival Roundhouse Three Sixty will debut from 1-30 April. BAFTA-winning Roundhouse alumnus Jack Rooke will host cabaret comedy night Show Hole at the event, which will also feature a Roundhouse Song Circle with performances by singer-songwriter Tom Odell.

Placing a strong focus on supporting youth talent, thousands of tickets will be available for free for 18-30-year-olds.

“Roundhouse Three Sixty will see world-class artists, emerging talent and young people from every walk of life come together for one month to perform, share and showcase their amazing work,” says Marcus Davey, CEO and artistic director at the Camden venue. “The festival embodies our core purpose as a charity amplifying our work with over 10,000 young people each year and it will create transformational artistic experiences that bring people together. We can’t wait to welcome you next April.”

James and Stereophonics will headline Neighbourhood Weekender, which returns following a fallow year. They will be joined by The Wombats, The Lathums, Inhaler, Dizzee Rascal, The Reytons, among others, at Victoria Park, Warrington on 24-25 May.

And Robbie Williams is the first headliner confirmed for the inaugural edition of the North East of England’s biggest-ever music festival, Come Together (4-8 June). Williams will take centre stage at the 45,000-capacity event at Newcastle’s Town Moor on 4 June, with the supporting cast including Kaiser Chiefs, Perrie, Andrew Cushin, Lottery Winners, Nell Mescal, Guy Sebastian, Deco, Sonny Tennet, Charlie Floyd and Harriet Rose.

“We are absolutely thrilled to announce Robbie Williams as our first headliner for the Come Together Festival,” adds Toby Leighton-Pope, MD of promoter TEG Europe. “Bringing such an iconic artist to Newcastle underscores our commitment to delivering a world-class festival experience that’s accessible and unforgettable.”

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Barclays has suspended its sponsorship of Live Nation UK’s remaining 2024 festivals following a raft of artist withdrawals over the bank’s ties to Israel.

Pest Control, Scowl, Speed and Zulu pulled out of this weekend’s Download Festival, with Pillow Queens, CMAT, Mui Zyu and Georgia Ruth dropping out of July’s Latitude 2024 earlier this month and The Waeve cancelling their slot at Isle of Wight Festival.

Barclaycard became headline partner of Isle of Wight and Latitude in 2023 as part of its partnership renewal with Live Nation UK. The five-year extension also included collaborations with events including TGE, Download, Lytham Festival, Camp Bestival and Reading & Leeds.

“Following discussion with artists, we have agreed with Barclays that they will step back from sponsorship of our festivals,” says a Live Nation spokesperson.

Previously, more than 100 speakers and acts pulled out of March’s SXSW, held in Austin, Texas, in protest at the event’s sponsorship by the US Army and its support for Israel during the Gaza war, while a similar number of acts withdrew from the UK’s The Great Escape (TGE) due to the Brighton event’s Barclays sponsorship. Massive Attack, Idles and Brian Eno were among dozens of acts who were not booked to play at TGE but signed an open letter launched in April calling for it to drop Barclays as a partner.

A spokesperson for Barclays tells the Guardian: “Barclays was asked and has agreed to suspend participation in the remaining Live Nation festivals in 2024. Barclays customers who hold tickets to these festivals are not affected and their tickets remain valid. The protesters’ agenda is to have Barclays debank defence companies which is a sector we remain committed to as an essential part of keeping this country and our allies safe.

“The only thing that this small group of activists will achieve is to weaken essential support for cultural events enjoyed by millions”

“They have resorted to intimidating our staff, repeated vandalism of our branches and online harassment. The only thing that this small group of activists will achieve is to weaken essential support for cultural events enjoyed by millions. It is time that leaders across politics, business, academia and the arts stand united against this.”

The publication notes that it understands the suspension does not apply to the entire contract.

Pressure has been directed towards the festivals to cut ties with sponsors linked to Israel, with campaigners and artists pressuring other musicians not to perform at them.

“This is a victory for the Palestinian-led global BDS movement,” says protest group Bands Boycott Barclays following today’s announcement. “As musicians, we were horrified that our music festivals were partnered with Barclays, who are complicit in the genocide in Gaza through investment, loans and underwriting of arms companies supplying the Israeli military. Hundreds of artists have taken action this summer to make it clear that this is morally reprehensible, and we are glad we have been heard.

“Our demand to Barclays is simple: divest from the genocide, or face further boycotts. Boycotting Barclays, also Europe’s primary funder of fossil fuels, is the minimum we can do to call for change.”

“We have been asked why we invest in nine defence companies supplying Israel, but this mistakes what we do”

IQ recently spoke to industry figures to find out how the business is dealing with the issue.

In response to the boycotts, Barclays have repeatedly pointed to their online Q&A which states: “We have been asked why we invest in nine defence companies supplying Israel, but this mistakes what we do. We trade in shares of listed companies in response to client instruction or demand and that may result in us holding shares. We are not making investments for Barclays and Barclays is not a ‘shareholder’ or ‘investor’ in that sense in relation to these companies.”

The activism has extended beyond live music to become a growing topic of debate in the wider arts world. Speaking on The Rest is Entertainment podcast, presenter Richard Osman said: “There’s an awful lot of pressure on Latitude and artists playing Latitude because of their ties to Barclays… And people I spoke to in the last week, they’re all talking amongst themselves, saying, ‘I don’t really want to boycott in this way. I understand what’s happening, but it feels like this isn’t the best thing to do.'”

The Financial Times reports that Wimbledon is now being targeted over its Barclays sponsorship, while investment management firm Baillie Gifford cancelled its sponsorship deals with literary festivals in the UK last week following protests over its links to Israel and fossil fuel companies.

Nick Thomas, a partner at Baillie Gifford, said: “The assertion that we have significant amounts of money in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is offensively misleading. Baillie Gifford is a large investor in several multinational technology companies, including Amazon, NVIDIA, and Meta.

“Demanding divestment from these global companies, used by millions of people around the world, is unreasonable and serves no purpose. Much as it would be unreasonable to demand authors boycott Instagram or stop selling books on Amazon.

“Nor is Baillie Gifford a significant fossil fuel investor. Only 2% of our clients’ money is invested in companies with some business related to fossil fuels. We invest far more in companies helping drive the transition to clean energy.”

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Next year’s festival lineups are already beginning to take shape, with artist announcements from events including Lollapalooza, Roskilde, Download, Rock Werchter, Latitude, Nova Rock, Innings Festival, Welcome to Rockville and Hellfest.

Lollapalooza this week confirmed the lineups for its Chile, Argentina and Brazil editions, scheduled for next March.

Headliners include Blink-182, SZA, Paramore (Brazil only), Feid (Chile/Argentina only), Sam Smith, Arcade Fire and Limp Bizkit.

Hozier, The Offspring, Thirty Seconds To Mars, Diplo, Above & Beyond, Dom Dolla, Phoenix, ZHU, Rina Sawayama, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Omar Apollo are also on the lineups.

The Chile and Argentina editions take place on 15-17 March at Parque Bicentenario de Cerrillos and at Hippodromo de San Isidro in Buenos Aires, respectively. Lollapalooza Brazil takes place 22-24 March at Autódromo de Interlagos in São Paulo.

Lolla South America headliners include Blink-182, SZA, Paramore, Feid, Sam Smith, Arcade Fire and Limp Bizkit

Lollapalooza in South America is produced by Perry Farrell, C3 Presents, Lotus Producciones (Chile), DF Entertainment (Argentina), and Rock World (Brazil).

The 2024 edition of Lollapalooza Brazil is the first to be managed by C3 Presents and Rock World (the company behind Rock in Rio) – both of which are majority-owned by Live Nation – it was announced in April.

Prior to that, Lolla Brazil was produced and promoted by South America’s leading live entertainment company T4F (Time For Fun) for 10 years.

Across the Atlantic, Denmark’s Roskilde festival has revealed 17 of 180 acts for next year’s instalment.

Foo Fighters, PJ Harvey, Kali Uchis, Blondshell, Romy and Gilli are among the acts set for the event, taking place between 29 June and 6 July 2024.

“I don’t mind admitting, this year for 2024 we approached 21 different headliners for Download… it’s been probably the hardest year”

Foo Fighters will also be headlining Belgium’s Rock Werchter, scheduled for 4–7 July at Festivalpark in Werchter.

Meanwhile, Download has announced more than 80 acts for its 21st edition, the follow-up to its fastest-selling edition in the event’s history.

Britain’s biggest heavy metal festival will be headlined by Queens Of The Stone Age, Avenged Sevenfold and Fall Out Boy in 2024.

Slipknot legend Corey Taylor, Pantera, Machine Head, The Offspring, Sum 41 and Royal Blood.

Download boss Andy Copping told Planet Rock that his booking team had found it “really tough” locking in these artists compared to previous years.

Live Nation’s Innings Festival will next year spawn a second weekend, dubbed Extra Innings

“I don’t mind admitting, this year for 2024 we approached 21 different headliners for Download,” he said. “It’s been probably the hardest year – I’ve said that in previous years before when it’s been hard to put the bill together – but this year has been particularly hard.”

Elsewhere in Live Nation’s portfolio, Latitude (UK) has secured Duran Duran a headliner for the 2024 offering, taking place in Suffolk’s Henham Park between 25–28 July, and Innings Festival (US) will return for a sixth edition next February with headliners by Red Hot Chili Peppers and Hozier.

The Arizona event will next year spawn a second weekend, dubbed Extra Innings, headlined by Chris Stapleton and Dave Matthews band.

The doubleheader weekends combine live music with Major League Baseball greats and interactive baseball-themed activations. Both take place from Tempe Beach Park & Arts Park during the Cactus League’s Spring Training.

Austria’s Nova Rock is also taking shape, with Green Day, Avenged Sevenfold, Måneskin and Bring Me The Horizon set to headline.

France’s Hellfest has confirmed Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, The Offspring, Megadeath and more

The event – promoted by Nova Music Entertainment, a part of CTS Eventim’s Barracuda Music – recently added a fourth day for 2024.

The 55,000-capacity festival will take place between 13 and 16 June 2024 at its longstanding home of Pannonia Fields in Nickelsdorf, Burgenland.

Billy Talent, Corey Taylor, Jane’s Addiction, Parkway Drive, Pendulum, Machine Head, Avril Lavigne, Alice Cooper, Sum 41 and Baby Metal are among the other acts slated to play Nova Rock 2024.

Elsewhere in the rock and metal festival sphere, France’s Hellfest has confirmed Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, The Offspring, Megadeath, Dropkick Murphys, Royal Blood and Bad Omens among others.

The 17th edition will take place 27–30 June 2024 in Clisson. Four-day passes for the festival are already sold out.

Many of the same artists at Hellfest will also appear at Welcome to Rockville 2024, produced by Danny Wimmer presents.

Foo Fighters, Mötley Crüe, Slipknot, Jelly Roll, Disturbed, Limp Bizkit, Queens of the Stone Age, Judas Priest, Greta Van Fleet, Evanescence, Falling In Reverse, A Day To Remember, Breaking Benjamin and Bad Omens will perform at Daytona International Speedway in Florida on 9-12 May, 2024.

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This year’s edition of Download in Germany, the second offshoot edition of the long-running UK rock festival brand, has been cancelled, with organisers citing production issues caused by a busy summer season.

Slipknot, Parkway Drive, Volbeat and The Prodigy were due to headline the event, which would’ve taken place over two days for the first time, from 23 and 24 June at the Hockenheimring, a motor racing circuit situated in the Rhine Valley near the town of Hockenheim.

“Despite the first-class line-up, the massive number of open-air events made organisation and implementation considerably more difficult this summer,” reads a statement from Download Germany organisers Live Nation GSA. “Unfortunately, the associated technical production obstacles proved to be insurmountable.”

Other major festivals that will not return in 2023 include Falls Festival (Australia), Rolling Loud (US), Summerburst (Sweden), Hills of Rock (Bulgaria), InMusic (Croatia), Wireless Germany, Hear Hear (Belgium) and Tempelhof Sounds and Tempelhof Sounds Presents (Germany).

FKP Scorpio CEO Folkert Koopmans recently laid bare the post-pandemic financial struggles faced by festivals, estimating that only 20% are still profitable.

Koopmans revealed that FKP’s flagship festival Hurricane lost money in 2022 despite selling out and warned that the sector is being “overwhelmed by spiralling costs”.

“The associated technical production obstacles proved to be insurmountable”

“We’re struggling with it, trying to keep the costs under control,” he said. “But it’s incredibly difficult. Of course, we also have an extremely high break-even point.”

Fellow German promoter DreamHaus (Rock am Ring/Rock im Park) previously revealed that production costs increased 25–30% for this year’s festival season.

“There are not that many suppliers that can supply festivals of our size so we’re also in a corner, where we can take it or leave it,” said DreamHaus’s Catharine Krämer.

“We could lower the cost of the whole festival experience but this would have a significant impact on the whole quality of it.”

Download Germany is the fourth sister event (after Melbourne, Sydney and Paris) of the UK’s premier rock festival, which returns next week for a 20th edition.

The anniversary event, which takes place over four days for the first time ever, became the fastest-selling in Download’s history.

More than 60 acts have been confirmed for Download Festival 2023, including headliners Bring Me The Horizon, Slipknot and Metallica, with the latter playing two unique sets on the Thursday and Saturday nights.

Architects, Evanescence, Disturbed, Placebo, Parkway Drive and Ghost are also billed to perform at the event, set for 8–11 June at Donington Park in Leicestershire.

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The 20th-anniversary edition of Download festival has become the fastest-selling in the event’s history.

Britain’s biggest heavy metal festival will return to Donington Park in Leicestershire between 8–11 June next year, running over four days for the first time ever.

Early bird tickets and ‘RIP packages’ for the Live Nation-promoted event have sold out, with a limited amount of RIP tickets on sale next week.

More than 60 acts have been confirmed for the 2023 instalment, including headliners Bring Me The Horizon, Slipknot and Metallica, with the latter playing two unique sets on the Thursday and Saturday nights.

More than 60 acts have been confirmed for the 2023 instalment, including Bring Me The Horizon, Slipknot and Metallica

Architects, Evanescence, Disturbed, Placebo, Parkway Drive and Ghost are also billed to perform at the event.

Other confirmed acts include As December Falls, Asking Alexandria, Aviva, Bambie Thug, Beauty School Dropout, Behemoth, Blackgold, Blind Channel, Bloodywood, Brutus, Crashface, Crawlers, Dead Sara, Elvana, Enola Gay, Fever 333, Fixation, Graphic Nature, GWAR, Hawxx, Ingested, I Prevail, Jazmin Bean.

Also on the 2023 lineup is Kid Bookie, Kid Kapichi, Lake Malice, Lorna Shore, Mod Sun, Monuments, Motionless In White, Municipal Waste, nothing, nowhere., Nova Twins, Polaris, Pupil Slicer, Seether, Set It Off, SiM, Simple Plan, Soen, Soul Glo, Stand Atlantic, Stray From The Path, Taylor Acorn, The Blackout, The Distillers, The Meffs, Terror, Three Days Grace, Touche Amore, VV, Witch Fever.

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Details of the 20th-anniversary edition of Download, Britain’s biggest heavy metal festival, have been revealed.

Next year’s event will once again take place at Donington Park in Leciestershire and, for the first time ever, will run for four days, from 8–11 June 2023.

More than 60 acts have been confirmed for the 2023 instalment, including headliners Bring Me The Horizon, Slipknot and Metallica, with the latter playing two unique sets on the Thursday and Saturday nights.

In a statement, Metallica said: “We are next-level honoured to once again come back and partake in the Download shenanigans on the hallowed grounds of Castle Donington, which has an unparalleled place in rock history.”

“We are next-level honoured to once again come back and partake in the Download shenanigans”

The band added the two sets would be completely different with no songs repeated.

Architects, Evanescence, Disturbed, Placebo, Parkway Drive and Ghost are also billed to perform at the Live Nation-promoted event.

Other confirmed acts include As December Falls, Asking Alexandria, Aviva, Bambie Thug, Beauty School Dropout, Behemoth, Blackgold, Blind Channel, Bloodywood, Brutus, Crashface, Crawlers, Dead Sara, Elvana, Enola Gay, Fever 333, Fixation, Graphic Nature, GWAR, Hawxx, Ingested, I Prevail, Jazmin Bean.

Also on the 2023 lineup is Kid Bookie, Kid Kapichi, Lake Malice, Lorna Shore, Mod Sun, Monuments, Motionless In White, Municipal Waste, nothing, nowhere., Nova Twins, Polaris, Pupil Slicer, Seether, Set It Off, SiM, Simple Plan, Soen, Soul Glo, Stand Atlantic, Stray From The Path, Taylor Acorn, The Blackout, The Distillers, The Meffs, Terror, Three Days Grace, Touche Amore, VV, Witch Fever.

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Live Nation UK has announced the appointment of longtime alternative promoter Ryan Cornall who will work on projects including Download festival.

Cornwall joins Live Nation after six years at Surprise You’re Dead Music, an alternative indie promoter operating across the Midlands.

Previously, Cornall has worked with the likes of While She Sleeps, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Testament, Dinosaur Pile Up, Ministry, Bury Tomorrow, Thy Art Is Murder, Every Time I Die and Boston Manor.

“It is with great pleasure that I welcome Ryan Cornall to Live Nation,” says Andy Copping, Live Nation’s executive president of touring, UK.

“I’m incredibly honoured to be on the Download team – working on my favourite festival is a dream come true”

“He joins a world-class and formidable promotions team who are dedicated to breaking artists, building careers and bringing even more incredible live experiences to fans in the UK.”

Ryan Cornall adds: “I’m incredibly honoured to be starting at Live Nation and to have the chance to be on the Download team, working on my favourite festival with such a high calibre of bands is a dream come true. I’m excited to start my journey at Live Nation with the very best promoters at the top of their game and would like to thank Andy, Sean and Kam for this amazing opportunity.”

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The British culture secretary has hailed as “a real success” recent UK pilot events after just 15 positive cases of Covid-19 – equivalent to 0.026% of attendees – were recorded among 58,000 people.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, Oliver Dowden says he is “very hopeful” the UK will meet its 21 June target for a full reopening of venues, theatres and clubs without social distancing, following encouraging results from recent Event Research Programme (ERP) test events, which included the Brit Awards, the Sefton Park Pilot music festival, The First Dance club shows and sports fixtures including the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium.

According to Dowden, there were no positive cases from the Brits, which took place with an audience of 4,000 at London’s O2 earlier this month, and two from Sefton Park Pilot, a one-day music festival in Liverpool.

Nine cases, meanwhile, were detected among the 6,000 clubbers who attended the two The First Dance events, held in Liverpool ahead of Sefton Park pilot, and no cases were reported from Wembley. The final four infections were detected at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, which hosted 17 days of the World Snooker Championship.

Oliver Dowden says he is “very hopeful” the UK will meet its 21 June target for a full reopening

No social distancing was in place at any of the ERP events, which used lateral-flow tests (LFTs) to check attendees for the coronavirus prior to entry.

A spokesperson for Dowden’s ministry, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, tells the Standard the figures are based on what has been seen “so far”, and that further data needs to be collected on other events. A full report will be presented to the prime minister at a later date.

The provisional findings from the ERP events come as Festival Republic, the organiser of Sefton Park Pilot, announces a second music festival, this time with camping, which will form part of the second phase of the programme.

As IQ reported earlier this month, the three-day event will be held in June and aims to build on the previous pilot by simulating the full, multi-day festival experience familiar to attendees of FR events including Reading Festival and Download.

“Following the huge success of our Sefton Park event, we are delighted to contribute to phase two of the government’s Events Research Programme with the creation of the first three-day camping festival, which will be the Download Pilot at Donington Park,” explains FR managing director Melvin Benn.

“This massive next step will help us understand and study the safe return of large-scale festivals with no social distancing or face masks over a full weekend. [It is] the return of the full festival experience we have all been waiting for, and a much needed return to work for musicians, backstage crew, caterers and many more that form part of the UK’s exemplary live music industry.”

“This massive next step will help us understand and study the safe return of large-scale festivals”

Download Pilot will have a capacity of 10,000 and take place from 18 to 20 June at the long-time home of Download, Donington Park in Leicestershire. Tickets are priced at £120 and go on sale on 1 June for Download 2022 ticket holders (the festival was cancelled for a second year in a row earlier this month), with general sale starting on 3 June. No day tickets will be available, with all attendees expected to camp on site.

As with Sefton Park Pilot, all festivalgoers will be required to produce proof of a negative LFT for entry, and also encouraged to take a more accurate PCR test before or after the event. Once in, no social distancing or mask wearing will be required: Download’s “loyal community of rock fans will be rewarded with the closest [thing] to a festival experience possible, with no social distancing, no masks, camping and the return of moshing”, according to Festival Republic.

The Download Pilot line-up will be announced this Friday (28 May).

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There will be no Download festival in the UK this summer, promoter Festival Republic confirmed today (1 March).

Iron Maiden, Kiss and Biffy Clyro will headline the 2022 edition of the 110,000-capacity rock and metal festival, which returns to Donington Park in Leicestershire next 10–12 June. Tickets for Download 2022 go on sale this Friday (5 March) at 10am GMT, priced from £250 for a standard weekend camping pass.

Download, which would have taken place from 4 to 6 June 2021, is the first of Live Nation-owned Festival Republic’s events to announce it will be unable to go ahead for a second consecutive year, with the likes of Wireless (2–4 July) and Latitude (22–25 July) still on for now and Reading and Leeds (27–29 August) having already sold out.

Download Australia, which would have debuted in 2020, is on hiatus, as are Download Madrid and Download France in Paris (both of which last took place in 2019).

“Ware determined to make the show one hell of a party and the greatest homecoming ever”

“Downloaders, your 2022 headliners are here,” comments Download booker Andy Copping. “Rock’n’roll legends Kiss will be kicking off Friday in style, Iron Maiden will return, bringing with them mascot Eddie and more fire than we can handle, and what better way to end the festival than with Biffy, who will leave us awestruck with their energy. I’m counting down the days already.”

“Like everyone, we were all hugely disappointed when the global pandemic forced the cancellation of Download 2020, which would have been Maiden’s seventh time headlining here,” says Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson, “so we are delighted to be invited back and fulfil our ambition of playing Donington Park in every decade since the 1980s.

“As most people know, this festival is hallowed ground for us – and Eddie – and our fans’ vocal support and enthusiasm is always phenomenal and much appreciated. We can’t wait to see everyone again, and are determined to make the show one hell of a party and the greatest homecoming ever.”

Further Download 2022 artists will be announced in the coming months.

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The Green Guardians Guide, spearheaded by the Green Events and Innovations Conference and IQ Magazine, is a new yearly iniative highlighting some of the work being done around the world to reduce the carbon footprint of the live entertainment business.

The inaugural list features 60 entries across ten categories, selected by the Green Guardians committes, which includes representatives from some of the sector’s most respected bodies, such as A Greener Festival, Go Group, Green Music Initiative, Julie’s Bicycle and Vision:2025.

Following on from last week’s feature on artists and activists doing their bit to make the world a cleaner and better place, this edition of Green Guardians looks at those pioneering ethical and sustainable staffing and personnel practices.

Staffing and personnel

My Cause UK

My Cause has provided more than 6,000 proactive front-line volunteers to the UK’s biggest events such as Boomtown, Boardmasters, Bestival,  Download Festival, Noisily, NASS, Love Saves The Day, Lovebox and many more.

My Cause offers event organisers an ethical and sustainable alternative to existing staffing providers by channelling its fees to the charities its volunteers nominate. That provides My Cause with a switched on, engaged and reliable team to represent client events in the best possible way. So far, it has donated almost £150,000 to more than 1,000 charities chosen by its volunteers.

My Cause director Rob Wilkinson notes, “When you are looking to book crew, volunteers, or staff from any supplier don’t just look at your bottom line but ask about what they do to care for and support their team. Well briefed, motivated and well cared for staff on your front line will bring your green credentials to life better than any sign or page in a programme ever could.”

“Well briefed staff on your front line will bring your green credentials to life better than any sign or page in a programme ever could”

Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival is a volunteer-run, non-profit organisation whose aim is to make a difference and have a positive effect on its surroundings; to support initiatives benefitting children and young people; and to support humanitarian and cultural work.

Festival volunteers participate year round in the decision-making, planning and troubleshooting processes, and in the recruitment and management of other volunteers.

The volunteer community is motivated by teamwork and a sense of all being in it together, and due to actively participating in the development of the festival. This has an impact on volunteers signing up and participating for the first time.

Roskilde’s core management team supports the organisation by providing leadership training (also developed and run by volunteers) and by providing tools for supporting feedback processes, allowing volunteers’ voices to be heard regarding the many ideas they have on how to improve processes and co-operation.

Roskilde Festival is a volunteer-run, non-profit organisation whose aim is to make a difference and have a positive effect on its surroundings

Greenpeace
Greenpeace was actually founded with a concert in Canada, in 1970, when James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and the late Phil Ochs performed a benefit gig to pay for the fuel that allowed a Greenpeace ship to sail into a nuclear testing zone.

Glastonbury was the first major festival that Greenpeace attended, in 1992. Many concerts and festivals have followed and continue to play a major part in helping the organisation to raise awareness of its international work.

The majority of its event volunteers come from the network of local Greenpeace groups, but it also advertises on its social media platforms where potential volunteers complete a questionnaire and Greenpeace asks for another person to vouch for them.

In terms of sustainability, Greenpeace endeavours to lead by example, calling out areas where improvements can be made. Festivals give Greenpeace access to an audience that it can inform and entertain, allowing it to communicate vital messages such as: “Don’t count the cost; DO IT! As otherwise it’s costing the Earth.”

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