European Festival Awards winners crowned
The 2023 European Festival Awards (EFAs) officially opened proceedings at Eurosonic Noorderslag last night, with hundreds of festival organisers and staff attending the ceremony in Groningen’s Oosterport venue in the Netherlands.
Hosted by A Greener Festival’s Claire O’Neill and IQ Magazine editor Gordon Masson, the 13th EFAs saw festivals from more than 30 countries participating and 300,000 votes cast by the public.
With live performances from Berry Galazka (PL), Kingfishr (IE) and Picture Parlour (UK), the event crowned Wasserman Music’s Tom Schroeder and Poland’s Alter Art as Agent and Promoter of the Year, respectively, while Lowlands promoter Eric van Eerdenburg collected the award for Excellence and Passion.
FKP Scorpio’s Hurricane Festival was named Best Major Festival, Slovakia’s Pohoda awarded Best Medium-Sized Festival and Germany’s Maifield Derby taking Best Small Festival. Other festivals recognised included Hungary’s Sziget (Take a Stand Award), the UK’s Glastonbury (Line-Up of the Year), Switzerland’s OpenAir St.Gallen (Event Safety Award) and Portugal’s Boom Festival (Green Operations Award).
However, the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for former Eurosonic conference chief Ruud Berends who was given the Lifetime Achievement award. Referring to his exit from the event, he noted, “Life is full of surprises,” before delivering an emotional speech to the festival awards audience.
“In our more and more money-driven industry and world, where shareholders rule, it is important not to forget who we are”
“Receiving a lifetime achievement award sort of sounds like the end of a career, but it is not for me. I am not done playing and I love what I do,” he said. “I do love working with and for my current clients and friends; especially IFF and Greg Parmley in London… Neill [Dixon] from Canadian Music Week in Toronto; Nuno & Rui from the lovely West Waylab in Guimaraes Portugal; and Ruth from the new So Alive Music Conference in Sofia. Thank you for your trust and let’s build something great together.”
He added: “In our more and more money-driven industry and world, where shareholders rule, it is important not to forget who we are, where we come from, how we started, our love for music, the artists and especially the emerging artists who really need our support… I am happy, proud and grateful receiving this life time achievement award, especially as it comes from the festival family.”
Organised by Yourope, the European festival association, the ceremony’s presenting partner was See Tickets, sponsors included EPS and 3F, and the media partner was IQ Magazine.
The full list of winners was as follows:
Take a Stand Award (Presented by Take a Stand): Sziget Festival, HU
Line-Up of the Year (Presented by IQ Magazine): Glastonbury, GB
Event Safety Award (Presented by YES Group): OpenAir St.Gallen, CH
Agent of the Year: Tom Schroeder, Wasserman Music
Best Small Festival: Maifeld Derby, DE
Newcomer of the Year (Presented by ESNS): Balming Tiger, KR
Brand Activation Award: Heroes & Hype Festivals & Unilever Axe, DE
Best Medium-Sized Festival: Pohoda Festival, SK
Green Operations Award (Presented by GO Group): Boom Festival, PT
Best Major Festival (Presented by See Tickets): Hurricane Festival, DE
Award for Excellence and Passion: Eric van Eerdenburg, NL
Promoter of the Year: Alter Art, PL
Lifetime Achievement Award: Ruud Berends, NL
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European Festival Awards 2022 winners revealed
Denmark’s Roskilde Festival, the Netherlands’ Mojo Concerts and Atlas Ukraine were among the big winners at last night’s European Festival Awards (EFA).
The in-person ceremony, held at De Oosterpoort in Groningen, the Netherlands as part of Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS), returned to celebrate the best of the 2022 season after a forced hiatus due to the pandemic.
Already announced as winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Roskilde also triumphed in two other categories at the EFA’s 12th edition – Best Major Festival and The Impossible without Youth Award.
In their acceptance speech, the team praised the festival’s army of volunteers (“We couldn’t do it without them”), along with the “best audience in the world”. “We are so proud and so honoured,” they added. “Thank you for seeing the ambition and the idea and the community behind this.”
Elsewhere, Atlas Festival & Music Saves UA received a standing ovation when picking up the Take A Stand Award, while Mojo collected Promoter of the Year.
“Two years of corona showed how difficult it is to organise the things we love”
Germany’s Superbloom was named Best New Festival. “Two years of corona showed how difficult it is to organise the things we love,” said Superbloom organiser Fruzsina Szép. “And to start a new brand, even more so.”
X-ray Touring’s Josh Javor dedicated his Agent of the Year gong to his mentor, “the one and only legend”, Steve Strange and recalled the times Strange took him to Eurosonic. “Because of him I didn’t know there were panels for three years because all we did was drink, watch bands and sleep,” he joked.
The Award for Excellence & Passion, meanwhile, went to festival veteran Holger Jan Schmidt. Dubbed a “A true servant for the cause”, Schmidt said: “I can only do something with passion. Burnout goes hand in hand with passion. I think we should all take a look at ourselves. How much can we do. How much passion can we invest?”
Festivals from more than 30 countries participated in the awards process, with 300,000 single votes cast by the public, resulting in 124 shortlisted nominees in 15 categories, not counting the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The full list of winners is as follows:
The Take a Stand Award
Atlas Festival & Music Saves UA (Ukraine)
Best New Festival
Superbloom (Germany)
The Impossible without Youth Award
Roskilde Festival (Denmark)
Best Indoor Festival
Iceland Airwaves (Iceland)
Line-Up of the Year
Hellfest (France)
The Health & Safety Innovation Award
Watt en Schlick Fest (Germany)
Agent of the Year
Josh Javor (X-Ray Touring)
Best Small Festival
Roadburn (The Netherlands)
Newcomer of the Year
Fred Again (UK)
The Brand Activation Award
Wacken Open Air (Germany) & Krombacher
Best Medium-Sized Festival
Best Kept Secret (The Netherlands)
The Green Operations Award
Rock Werchter (Belgium)
Best Major Festival
Roskilde Festival (Denmark)
The Award for Excellence & Passion
Holger Jan Schmidt
Promoter of the Year
Mojo (The Netherlands)
The Lifetime Achievement Award
Roskilde Festival (Denmark)
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European Festival Awards returns, entries open
The European Festival Awards is slated to return at next year’s Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) in the Netherlands, after a pandemic-induced hiatus.
Taking place on 18 January 2023, in De Oosterpoort, Groningen, the 12th edition will honor the best major, medium-sized, and small festivals; best indoor festival; and best new festival.
Self-registration for the awards is now open, with other awards including line-up of the year, newcomer of the year, the lifetime achievement award, agent of the year and promoter of the year.
The 12th edition will honor the best major, medium-sized, and small festivals; best indoor festival; and best new festival
Established in 2009 by Festival Awards, Yourope and ESNS, the last European Festival Awards ceremony took place on January 15, 2020 in Groningen.
The 2020 awards saw Wacken Open Air and Roskilde Festival pick up the biggest prizes of the night – best major festival and best line-up respectively. The Netherlands’ Mojo (Pinkpop, North Sea Jazz, Down the Rabbit Hole, Lowlands) won best promoter, with CAA’s Mike Greek earning the agent of the year award.
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European Festival Awards 2019: All the winners
Glastonbury Festival, Open’er, Electric Castle, No Sleep Festival and WME’s Lucy Dickins were among those to pick up prizes at the 2019 European Festival Awards, held this evening at Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) in Groningen, the Netherlands.
Hosted by IQ’s Gordon Masson and A Greener Festival’s Claire O’Neill, the award ceremony saw festivals recognised across 15 categories, including best major, medium and small festivals and line-up of the year, as well as awards for green efforts, health and safety innovation and brand activations.
Open’er Festival, organised by independent Polish promoter Alter Art, was the evening’s biggest winner, taking home the prizes for best major festival and best brand activation for its collaboration with Netflix’s Stranger Things.
Representatives from Romania enjoyed a successful evening, with Romanian festivals Electric Castle and Jazz in the Park taking the best medium-sized festival and best small festival gongs respectively, and Codruta Vulcu, the founder of 2018’s best small festival, ARTmania, winning the award for excellence and passion.
Open’er Festival, organised by independent Polish promoter Alter Art, was the evening’s biggest winner
German events also put in a good showing, with Hamburg’s Reeperbahn Festival winning best indoor event and Das Fest, which takes place in the German city of Karlsruhe, receiving the Take a Stand award for its commitment to social activism.
Other major prizes went to the UK’s Glastonbury Festival, last year headlined by Stormzy, the Killers and the Cure, for line-up of the year, No Sleep Festival in Serbia for best new festival and to WME’s Lucy Dickins for agent of the year.
As previously announced, Holger Hübner and Thomas Jensen, the co-founders of Wacken Open Air – the winner of best major festival at the 2018 awards – received the lifetime achievement gong at this year’s ceremony.
A full list of European Festival Awards 2019 winners can be found below:
Best major festival
Open’er Festival (Poland)
Best medium-sized festival
Electric Castle (Romania)
Best small festival
Jazz in the Park (Romania)
Best indoor festival
Reeperbahn Festival (Germany)
Best new festival
No Sleep Festival (Serbia)
Line-up of the year
Glastonbury (United Kingdom)
Newcomer of the year
Billie Eilish (US)
The lifetime achievement award
Holger Hübner and Thomas Jensen (Wacken Open Air)
The green operations award
OpenAir St Gallen (Switzerland)
The health and safety innovation award
Balaton Sound (Hungary)
The brand activation award
Open’er Festival (Poland) & Netflix’s Stranger Things
The Take a Stand award
Das Fest (Germany)
The award for excellence and passion
Codruta Vulcu
Promoter of the year
Wepromote (Switzerland)
Agent of the year
Lucy Dickins (WME)
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W:O:A founders to receive EFA lifetime achievement gong
Holger Hübner and Thomas Jensen, co-founders of German metal festival Wacken Open Air, will receive the lifetime achievement award at the 11th European Festival Awards (EFAs) on 15 January 2020.
The other nominees for the awards, which take place during Eurosonic Noorderslag in Groningen, Netherlands, were revealed last week, with over 350,000 votes cast across the 14 other categories.
Jensen, the bassist in a band called Skyline, and Hübner, who was working as a DJ, co-founded Wacken Open Air in 1990.
Nearly 30 years on, the festival is arguably the world’s most important metal/hard rock event – Wacken 2020 sold all 75,000 tickets in the space of a few hours – and their company, ICS, also includes a roster of other hard rock festivals, a touring division, a booking agency (Seaside Touring), ticketing platform Metaltix and the Wacken Foundation, a nonprofit which provides tour support and other assistance to young bands.
Last year’s EFA lifetime achievement award was collected by Eurosonic founder Peter Smidt, with Wacken picking up best major festival and Roskilde Festival being awarded line-up of the year.
Read IQ’s special 30th-anniversary feature on Wacken Open Air here.
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European Festival Awards unveils 2019 shortlist
The nominees for the 11th edition of the European Festival Awards have been revealed, with the ceremony due to take place on 15 January at Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) in the Netherlands.
Over 350,000 votes have been cast for the 2019 awards across the main public categories, which include best major, medium and small festivals, as well as the best new and best indoor events.
The awards will present accolades across 15 categories in total, with the shortlists available for all but one category – the lifetime achievement award – which last year went to ESNS co-founder Peter Smidt.
The nominees for the 11th edition of the European Festival Awards have been revealed
The shortlists can be viewed here across categories including the year’s best line-up, promoter, agent, new artist and brand activation, as well as awards for social activism, excellence and passion, and green operations.
Last year’s awards saw Wacken Open Air and Roskilde Festival pick up the biggest prizes of the night – best major festival and best line-up respectively. The Netherlands’ Mojo (Pinkpop, North Sea Jazz, Down the Rabbit Hole, Lowlands) won best promoter, with CAA’s Mike Greek earning the agent of the year award.
Tickets for the 2019 awards ceremony at De Oosterpoort, Groningen, are available here, with tribune tickets priced at €30. Premium tickets, which include access to the cocktail hour, a three-course dinner, a seat at the awards show and access to the after party, cost €100.
See all the winners from last year’s European Festival Awards here.
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European Festival Awards 2018: The winners
Pohoda, Wacken Open Air, NorthSide, Mojo Concerts and CAA’s Mike Greek were among the winners at last night’s tenth-anniversary European Festival Awards 2018, held at Eurosonic Noorderslag in Groningen.
Hosted for the final time by IQ editor Gordon Masson and Glastonbury Festival/Yourope lawyer Ben Challis, the awards once again recognised excellence in 15 categories, with the biggest prizes of the night – best major festival and line-up of the year – going to Judas Priest-headlined Wacken Open Air and Roskilde Festival, respectively.
Roskilde was a double winner, also taking home the health and safety award for the second year running, with Pohoda Festival winning the Take a Stand Award and its festival director, Michal Kascak, the prize for excellence and passion.
The Netherlands’ Mojo (Pinkpop, North Sea Jazz, Down the Rabbit Hole) won best promoter, while Denmark’s NorthSide was recognised as the best medium-sized festival and Romania’s ARTmania the best small event.
Pohoda, Wacken Open Air, NorthSide, Mojo Concerts and CAA’s Mike Greek were among the winners
As previously announced, Eurosonic Noorderslag co-founder and outgoing creative director Peter Smidt took home the lifetime achievement award.
Performances on the night came from Grant and Bishop Briggs, with the main artist’s award, for best newcomer, being awarded to Greta Van Fleet.
A full list of winners is below.
Best New Festival
Rolling Stone Park
The Health & Safety Innovation Award
Roskilde Festival
Agent of the Year
Mike Greek, CAA
Best Small Festival
ARTmania Festival
The Green Operations Award
DGTL Amsterdam
Promoter of the Year
Mojo Concerts
Line-up of the Year
Roskilde Festival
Best Indoor Festival
WOS Festival
The Take a Stand Award
Pohoda Festival
The Brand Activation Award
Fortum at Ruisrock
Newcomer of the Year
Greta van Fleet
Best Medium-Sized Festival
NorthSide Festival
The Award for Excellence & Passion
Michal Kascak, Pohoda Festival
Best Major Festival
Wacken Open Air
The Lifetime Achievement Award
Peter Smidt
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One week countdown for ESNS 2019 begins
Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS), the largest showcase of promising European music talent, kicks off next Wednesday in Groningen, the Netherlands. This year’s festival promises to host 350 acts and more than 4,000 conference delegates, including festival bookers, expert panellists and other important industry figures.
ESNS serves as a key exchange for emerging European artists, combining a packed daytime conference schedule with an equally jammed evening live music programme. The De Oosterport conference centre in Groningen acts as the festival hub, a centre for industry networking, engaged debate and live music expertise.
Each year, the festival concentrates on showcasing talent from a specific focus nation. For ESNS 2019, the focus becomes double, with acts from both the Czech Republic and Slovakia taking centre stage.
ESNS serves as a key exchange for emerging European artists, combining a packed daytime conference schedule with an equally jammed evening live music programme
The festival opens on 16 January with the European Festival Awards (EFA), at which Peter Smidt, ESNS founder and creative director, will accept the prestigious lifetime achievement award.
Hungary’s Sziget Festival is once again nominated for the best major festival award, having taken home the prize for line-up of the year at last year’s EFAs. It contends for the top spot with Open’er Festival, Hellfest, Pinkpop and Roskilde Festival, among others. CAA agent and 2018 Music Industry Trusts (MITs) award winner Emma Banks appears among the nominees vying for success in the agent of the year category.
The European Talent Exchange Programme (ETEP) returns to ESNS following another record-breaking year spreading and promoting the newest and best in European music. Festival shows played through the programme numbered 457 last summer. The programme’s 2018 winner, Superorganism, appears alongside fellow ETEP hits Zeal & Ardor and Sigrid on EFA’s newcomer of the year nominee list.
A change to proceedings sees the Music Moves Europe Talent Awards replace the long-running Europe Border Breaker Awards. The inaugural awards look to support new acts, offering winners the chance to play live at ESNS, and providing them with tailor-made training programmes, as well as financial help. British artists Bishop Briggs and Pale Waves find themselves among the triumphant 12 winners revealed in November.
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Peter Smidt to receive lifetime achievement award at EFAs
Peter Smidt, founder and creative director of Eurosonic Noorderslag, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the European Festival Awards (EFA) later this month.
The award will be presented to Smidt at the 2018 EFAs, which once again celebrate achievements in the festival industry across 15 categories. The EFA says it is proud to honour Smidt with the award, in recognition of all his work for the music industry.
The awards be co-hosted by IQ editor Gordon Masson and take place on 16 January 2019 in Groningen, the Netherlands, in conjunction with the opening of Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS).
Throughout his career, Smidt has served as a bastion of European music. He has worked closely with the European Music Office to develop strategies for protecting and promoting European artists, and has created initiatives to enable the expansion of artists across Europe.
The EFA says it is proud to honour Smidt with the award, in recognition of all his work for the music industry
Smidt was integral to the launching of the European Talent Exchange Programme which works with member festivals to promote the spread of European artists across the world. Last year, the initiative enjoyed a record-breaking summer, making 457 shows possible across the festival season.
Having organised the European Border Breakers Awards (EBBAs) for 15 years, Smidt this year initiated the Music Moves Europe Talent Awards to replace them. This EU-backed prize aims to celebrate and support up-and-coming European artists. The inaugural awards ceremony will take place at this year’s ESNS.
Kicking off with the European Festival Awards ceremony, this year’s ESNS will go on to play host to over 4,000 music industry experts and 350 artists across four days of panel discussions, expert talks and live music events.
Last year’s award for lifetime achievement went to Daniel Rossellat, founder and president of Swiss rock festival, Paléo festival Nyon.
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European Festival Awards 2017: The winners
Roskilde Festival, Sziget, MENT Ljubljana, ATC Live agent Alex Bruford and Lollapalooza Berlin festival director Fruzsina Szép were among the winners at the ninth European Festival Awards, which took place last night at Eurosonic Noorderslag in Groningen, Netherlands.
Hosted one again by IQ editor Gordon Masson and Glastonbury Festival/Yourope lawyer Ben Challis, the awards recognised excellence in 15 categories, including the new Take a Stand award, in association with Yourope’s Take a Stand initiative.
Hungary’s Sziget and Serbia’s Exit Festival took home the two big gongs – line-up of the year and best major festival, respectively – while while an emotional Szép was presented with the award for excellence and passion. Bruford won agent of the year, in association with IQ, and Paléo Festival Nyon founder Daniel Rossellat the award for lifetime achievement.
Hörstmann’s GoodLive, formerly Melt! Booking, was named best promoter, while Slovakia’s Pohoda was recognised for its environmental credentials, winning its first Festival Award for green operations. Slovenia’s MENT Ljubljana was recognised as best small festival and best indoor festival.
Performances on the night came from Dutch singer Naaz, Belgian Jeff Buckley-a-like Tamino and Finnish duo Alma.
A full list of winners is below:
Best New Festival
In association with CGA
Wacken Winter Nights
The Green Operations Award
In association with Go Group
Pohoda Festival
Line-Up of the Year
In association with Faceculture
Sziget Festival
Best Indoor Festival
MENT Ljubljana
Newcomer of the Year
In association with Eurosonic Noorderslag
Rag’n’Bone Man
Agent of the Year
In association with IQ
Alex Bruford (ATC Live)
Promoter of the Year
Goodlive
The Brand Activation Award
In association with Emac
The Miele Powerwash at Lowlands Festival
Best Small Festival
MENT Ljubljana
The Health and Safety Innovation Award
In association with Yes Group
Paléo Festival Nyon & Roskilde Festival
Best Medium-Sized Festival
In association with Eventbrite
Down the Rabbit Hole
The Take a Stand Award
In association with Take a Stand
Roskilde Festival
Best Major Festival
Exit Festival
The Award for Excellence & Passion
Fruzsina Szép
The Lifetime Achievement Award
Daniel Rossellat
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