Attitude is Everything, Julie’s Bicycle and A Greener Future (AGF) will publish a new toolkit that empowers the UK events industry to implement practical solutions that tackle both climate change and accessibility.

The launch of the toolkit comes after a 2023 survey by Julie’s Bicycle found that sustainability is a consideration for over two-thirds of disabled respondents but that one-third feel that environmental solutions are not easy to navigate and do not meet their access requirements.

The toolkit reveals key barriers that disabled people experience within sustainability initiatives and outlines practical ways in which venues, events and festivals can address both these missions holistically.

The resource also includes three case studies with UK festivals Green Man, Forwards Festival and Shambala, which highlight where the issues have arisen, the solutions that each festival has developed and the areas where further work is needed.

Throughout 2024, AIE, Julie’s Bicycle and AGF are asking for venue managers, festival organisers, and promoters to test out the toolkit and give feedback that will result in an updated version in early 2025.

The first iteration of the toolkit will be launched today at the Green Events and Innovation Conference in London with a presentation by Julie’s Bicycle and AGF.

“Just like there’s no music on a dead planet, there’s no access either”

That will be followed by a panel discussion chaired by climate justice activist, student and speaker Dominique Palmer, with Attitude is Everything Patron Blaine Harrison of the Mystery Jets, Arts Council England’s Senior Manager for Environmental Responsibility Feimatta Conteh and Forwards Festival’s Accessibility Manager Harry Jones.

“I’m really looking forward to taking part in the panel discussion at GEI,” says Blaine Harrison, Mystery Jets, Attitude is Everything Patron, and joint Attitude is Everything and FAC Artist Ambassador.

“As a touring artist with my band Mystery Jets, I have witnessed huge changes in the live music industry over the past 20 years – both good and bad. Climate Justice is perhaps the most important conversation of our time and from a grassroots level to the mainstream, I feel that solutions around the environmental impact of our industry need to feel inclusive to all.”

Suzanne Bull MBE, founder of Attitude is Everything, adds: “Just like there’s no music on a dead planet, there’s no access either. Public demand is growing for businesses to take their environmental and access responsibilities seriously, and that public includes disabled people. More than one billion disabled people worldwide are more impacted by climate change than non-disabled people due to the additional access requirements and health concerns many of them have when disasters strike countries and our cities become clogged with polluted air. My hope is that this collaboration and the toolkit will be the catalyst for change.”

Teresa Moore, director at A Greener Future, comments: “Today’s festivals need to be viewed as an ecosystem of sustainable practices where every aspect of the event supports its sustainability goals recognising that accessibility is part of that ecosystem.”

Farah Ahmed, climate justice lead, Julie’s Bicycle, says: “We’re really proud to launch this toolkit with Attitude is Everything and A Greener Future. As the urgency of the climate crisis accelerates, we have to ensure that our responses are accessible, just, and inclusive. Live events and festivals have a responsibility to ensure that disabled people are included in shaping bold new ideas for climate action that leave no one behind.”

See the key messages from the toolkit below:

• We have an opportunity as a sector to approach access and sustainability more holistically, with connected policies and solutions across different focus areas.
• Transport is a huge and complex barrier – local authorities, planners, events organisers and disabled people need to come together and find collective solutions.
• We can examine our supply chains, supporting suppliers to make accessible and sustainable equipment, which can be scaled up across the country and re-used or recycled more efficiently.
• We need new and creative solutions around accessible waste management, food and water use, and power supply.
• We should acknowledge that sometimes there might not be a solution available yet that is both accessible and environmentally friendly. Disabled people sometimes might require the use of single use items, cars, or additional equipment but they should never be blamed or shamed for this.

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The Green Guardians Guide, spearheaded by the Green Events and Innovations Conference (GEI) and IQ Magazine, is a new yearly initiative boosting the profiles of those working at the forefront of sustainability, in the hope that it might also inspire others.

The 2021 list, which originally ran in IQ 103, includes 40 entries across eight categories, highlighting some of the organisations and individuals who are working so tirelessly to reduce the carbon footprint of the live entertainment business.

This year’s winners have been chosen by a judging panel that includes experts from A Greener Festival, Greener Events, Julie’s Bicycle, the Sustainability in Production Alliance, the Sustainable Event Council and the Tour Production Group.

IQ will publish entries across all categories over the coming weeks. Catch up on the previous instalment of the Green Guardians Guide which looks at travel & transport.

Club La Feria
In May 2019, La Feria club in Santiago, Chile, became the first nightclub in the world to sustainably cover 100% of the energy it uses.

In a collaboration with Budweiser, the project included carefully retrofitting the historical structure with 35 photovoltaic panels on the roof and in the main wall.

In total, the facility will produce 1,299 kWh of energy monthly – more than enough to power its strobe lighting, cool down overheated clubgoers, run the sound system, and provide all other electrical needs.

This translates to a saving of 6.51 tons of CO2 annually that would have been otherwise emitted into the atmosphere – more than what five houses would consume.

That “Chile is at the forefront of sustainability in the region and probably the world,” is La Feria and Budweiser’s vision.

“We hope this initiative can inspire and motivate other clubs in Chile, and that in a few years [those that] operate on renewable energy are the rule and not the exception.”

The undertaking is the fusion of both worlds from the club and the brand.

La Feria’s commitment to inspire green initiatives in the music industry and in its community unites with Budweiser’s goal to transform its global production by 2025 to 100% clean energy.

La Feria club in Santiago, Chile, became the first nightclub in the world to sustainably cover 100% of the energy it uses

Ecotricity
Ecotricity’s mission is to fight climate change by scrapping the use of fossil fuels and giving people an alternative – green energy.

The company started with one windmill in Gloucestershire, UK, and has carried on building new wind and solar parks around the country.

Whenever a home or business switches to Ecotricity for their electricity, they stop using fossil fuel to power their home and start using green energy.

Other energy companies have followed Ecotricity’s lead, and today around 33% of the energy used in the UK comes from green sources.

Across the UK, homes and businesses are still predominantly heated using fossil fuels – mainly natural gas. Although Ecotricity’s gas is only about 1% from sustainable sources, the rest is carbon neutralised gas (the company invests in carbon reduction programmes to cancel out the carbon burned).

However, the company believes green gas is the way forward and it is constructing green gas mills – making biomethane from grass cuttings – to replace natural gas in the grid. When the grass grows back, it absorbs the carbon dioxide created by burning green gas. Then that grass is cut to make more green gas, and the sustainable cycle repeats itself.

Ecotricity’s mission is to fight climate change by scrapping the use of fossil fuels and giving an alternative – green energy

Greener
Greener was founded in January 2018, in order to make an impact on the carbon dioxide footprint of on and off-grid energy markets, using mobile batteries and smart energy planning.

The idea emerged in 2014, after a backstage visit to one of the biggest festivals in The Netherlands. Greener’s founders were shocked to discover how little thought had gone into accurately and efficiently planning the power supply of equipment such as lights, audio and food trucks.

As they investigated further, they saw the same lack of planning for energy efficiency in other areas, like construction sites and grid maintenance. Instead, all they could see was needlessly massive equipment running on very low-efficiency rates – a situation they felt compelled to change.

The people behind Greener are convinced that there are many opportunities to make practices in the energy sector less of a burden on the environment. The company sees solutions in technological innovation and it is bringing these to the market to make our world greener.

Greener was founded in order to make an impact on the carbon dioxide footprint of on and off-grid energy markets

Pohoda Festival
Pohoda on the Ground, the miniature 2021 version of Pohoda Festival with capacity limited to 1,000, was able to operate using just electricity from the grid.

Pohoda takes place on a local airfield that is in regular use. In its partnership with local energy provider, ZSE, the event’s production crew researched the maximum capacity of the local network and set up four points on the airport, where they could temporarily place high voltage 630kVA transformers.

“For the full capacity festival with 12 stages and 30,000 visitors, it covered about 40% of the festival energy needs in 2019. For the limited-edition 2021 [event], just two transformers were enough to cover it completely,” reports the event’s sustainability chief, Michal Sládek.

“As we cannot expand the local network further, our next intention is to use the transformers more efficiently. Although they are ideal for stages to handle the energy peaks in the shows, it appears that more energy is consumed in the services that are running continuously for the whole festival, as well as the food concessions. So, for the next edition of Pohoda, we plan to analyse thoroughly the energy use to find any possible savings and the optimal setup to feed the festival, efficiently, with energy.”

Pohoda on the Ground, the miniature 2021 version of Pohoda Festival, was able to operate using just electricity from the grid

Zap
Offering consultancy in energy and sustainability, ZAP Concepts has created a unique, straightforward, online power supplies application that has been designed to calculate the amount of power that an event needs in advance.

The new web application makes the collection of power information from all event suppliers extremely easy, quick, and efficient. All suppliers receive a link where they can submit details of their power consuming gear directly into the application, and event producers can select their gear from the database, which contains all possible power consumers at events, including all required data to make accurate energy calculations.

Instead of a power supplier trying to estimate the energy consumption at an event, organisers can select their own equipment in the tool. Zap can then calculate energy consumption with the help of an extensive set of parameters, and the system will create a customised Smart Power Plan within 72 hours.

The Zap tool provides information and suggests the most sustainable and efficient power supply for an event, allowing organisers to cut up to 80% of emissions, use fewer generators, increase the use of green batteries and create the most reliable power network for their event.

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The Green Guardians Guide, spearheaded by the Green Events and Innovations Conference and IQ Magazine, will be compiled each year to highlight some of the work being done around the world to reduce the carbon footprint of the live entertainment business.

To identify the companies, organisations and individuals that are pioneering sustainability measures, a Green Guardians committee has been established, including representatives of some of the sector’s most respected bodies, including A Greener Festival, Go Group, Greener Events Foundation, Green Events Netherlands, Green Music Initiative, Julie’s Bicycle, Réseau des Femmes en Environnement (The women in environment network) and Vision:2025.

This inaugural list features 60 entries across ten categories, and we would like to congratulate all those featured for making this year’s guide. As well as thanking everyone involved for the hard work they are putting in to making the world a cleaner and better place. The goal next year is to feature 100 Green Guardians and establish this as an annual guide for anyone that is looking for partners to address sustainability matters and, ideally, help to make the live events industry carbon neutral.

IQ will publish entries across all categories over the coming weeks. Up first, are sustainailbity pioneers from the event infrastructure sector.

Event Infrastructure

TOHU
Located at the centre of Montreal’s Cité des arts du cirque, the 1,200-capacity TOHU is a place where dissemination, creation, and experimentation converge with culture, environment and community involvement. Since its 2004 inception, it has become an example of sustainable development through culture.

TOHU’s 360-degree circular hall is in the purest circus tradition and plays a major role in the incredible growth of Quebec circus, which it places at the top of the bill, thanks to its dedicated venue and festival.

TOHU’s Pavilion is green not only in spirit, but in body, too. It was been awarded LEED GOLD (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) – a programme that imposes the strictest environmental standards, not only during construction but also in the management of the completed building.

Among the many measures TOHU can boast are passive geothermal power, an ice bunker, biogas heating, natural/hybrid ventilation, recycled architecture, green roofs, a naturalised basin, and even a vegetable garden and beehives.

Since its 2004 inception, TOHU has become an example of sustainable development through culture

Passareco
Passareco offers soil protection solutions that make it possible to use nature while also protecting it: whether parking lot infrastructure, hiking or bike trails – Passareco helps customers reconcile the different usage requirements.

Climate protection is central to Passareco and as a result it sources wood from regional sawmills and uses 100% green electricity. The company’s all-encompassing approach to sustainability means it is incredibly careful in choosing its partners, and it promotes like-minded organisations such as tent rental company Tent in Time, social company Syphon AG (which produces floor-protection panels), landscapers Biel-Seeland, and a variety of social enterprise operations that variously provide skills training to unemployed and disabled adults.

Passareco also champions ESB’s Biel/Bienne green electricity product, which is Naturemade Star-certified – produced in the Biel city area through a combination of electricity from the Taubenloch Gorge and power from solar roofs.

Passareco offers soil protection solutions that make it possible to use nature while also protecting it

NNNN
NNNN was created to target the audio market with a disruptive solution and mindset, combining acoustic quality with sustainability. The company’s patents enable it to do with sound what LED did with light, and it has succeeded in designing speaker solutions that reduce energy consumption by up to 90%, compared to leading premium brands.

Transportation is one of the largest contributors of CO2 emissions, so NNNN is setting up a local manufacturer in the US to cover the North American market, while manufacturing in Norway will cover the European market.

NNNN’s speakers are made of sustainable Nordic spruce and are manufactured without toxic substances such as beryllium. Manufacturing in Norway is done with 100% hydroelectric power, which has no CO2 footprint. The company says its search for better solutions for the environment has only just begun.

NNNN was created to combine acoustic quality with sustainability

FGH Security
Although its mission statement is “Keeping People Safe,” environmental issues have always been on the agenda for FGH Security. The company was an early adopter of the #DrasticOnPlastic campaign and saves 100,000 cups and bottles from going to landfill every year, simply by issuing 500 mugs and 500 sports bottles to its team.

FGH has been carbon-neutral for a number of years and as part of its ISO 14001 certification, it calculates all the carbon it has produced (travel Co2, paper, electric, etc.) and plants four trees for every ton. The FGH team is also working on a plan to build an office from sustainable materials, complete with solar panels, vegetable gardens and a gym that produces electricity.

Boss Peter Harrison tells IQ, “Most of the things we have done – electric cars, a paperless office, #DrasticOnPlastic – are actually cost-neutral, so doing good does not need to cost a lot. It just needs the will, tenacity and some thinking outside the box.”

Although its mission statement is “Keeping People Safe,” environmental issues have always been on the agenda for FGH Security

Continest
Continest is an innovative, foldable container solution especially developed for relatively short-period usage anywhere there is a need for temporary accommodation, office/meeting rooms, first aid, command posts, storage, service areas, and cooling and heating purposes. The containers are uniquely developed for easy and quick set up and transport, thus being environmentally friendly. The solution offers an 80% cost cut on logistic and storage costs, and a similar reduction of CO2 and GHG emissions.

In the next 12 months, three main innovations will be rolled out: the CN20 Solar 20-foot, foldable container; connectable Wet Cell units; and the bullet and blast proof foldable version.

Continest aims to succeed in the event market segment as well as providing innovative solutions to the defense industry.

The company claims to be the world’s first signage specialist that only deals with sustainable materials

The Sustainable Signage Co.
With its plastics-free signage solutions, The Sustainable Signage Co. is a forward-thinking, can-do operation, whose focus is to help companies and individuals reduce the amount of plastic-containing materials that are currently being used in the signage industry. It does this by offering sustainable alternatives that are as good, if not better, than current plastic signs used, while also helping to minimise the amount of plastic entering landfill every day.

The company claims to be the world’s first signage specialist that only deals with sustainable materials that can meet the demand of internal and external signage in small and large quantities. Its products have been scrutinised and accredited by A Plastic Planet and it says it is the only signage company to have been accredited with this certification mark.

Located in the West Midlands, UK, the company has both UK and international clients, and even before the Covid-19 pandemic, it was encouraging the use of Skype or Facetime to reduce carbon footprint whenever possible.

Water scarcity is a very real concern for organisers

SANI
Water scarcity is a very real concern for organisers because events cannot take place without a guaranteed supply of freshwater and wastewater supply for sewerage maintenance.

SANI solutions has developed water-saving sanitary vacuum products for the event sector, including vacuum toilets, showers and urinals.

SANI’s products require less water and less power, meaning that emissions from wastewater transport and power consumption are reduced in comparison to traditional festival toilets. There is a lower faecal load of wastewater compared to portable toilets and the wastewater left is more resource efficient to clarify in sewage treatment plants compared to portable toilet wastewater.

The company says that it can save: up to 80% in wastewater transport costs compared to conventional flush toilets; up to 30% in energy costs through more efficient units, distributors, etc; and up to 50% in storage costs for wastewater and freshwater. In 2019, SANI worked with Rock am Ring to install vacuum toilets, showers, washing units, urinals and toilets with wheelchair accessibility. The festival saved 25-30% water for the event, or about 1,500-1,800m³ .

Continue reading this feature in the digital edition of IQ 90, or subscribe to the magazine here

Five years on from its inaugural edition, the second Show Must Go On report has been published, offering a comprehensive insight into outdoor event sustainability.

The report, which is available to download here, is the result of years of planning, research, data gathering and crowdfunding from within the industry. The Show Must Go On launches alongside a free-to-access online resource, the Vision2025 website, that features case studies, briefings and a supplier directory.

Both resources reflect the progress made in terms of the technologies, materials and operational practices used to reduce the environmental impacts of live events. The report is divided into chapters on governance, resources and waste, water, food, energy, travel and transports.

So far, more than 100 festivals and events have made the Vision:2025 pledge, committing to cutting the environmental impact of the events sector in half within five years.

“After a decade of the Powerful Thinking industry steering group, this is a significant step in the journey. The industry has now come together around a vision and has crowdfunded world-leading resources to inspire meaningful action,” comments Chris Johnson, chair of Powerful Thinking and Vision2025.

“The report is a call to action. Whatever people and organisations have done to date, the time to act and to tackle the climate crisis is now”

“This has been a huge collaborative effort and our thanks go out to all contributors, including our three gamechangers: Festival Republic, Continest and Nordic Wristbands, whose financial support underpinned the process.

“The report is a call to action. Whatever people and organisations have done to date, the time to act and to tackle the climate crisis is now.”

Alison Tickell, CEO and founder of Julie’s Bicycle, the charity behind Powerful Thinking and Vision 2025, adds: “Living within the generous boundaries of our planet’s ecosystems is now the only job in hand. As a creative and events collective, we can bring inspiration and community to this task.”

Live industry professional will discuss ways to reduce the environmental impact of events at music business sustainability gathering the Green Events and Innovations Conference (GEI) on 3 March, presented by A Greener Festival in partnership with the International Live Music Conference.

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A coalition of UK artists, music companies and associations have issued a declaration of a ‘climate and ecological emergency’, calling on governments to do more to combat global warming while pledging to make their businesses more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

The declaration, issued today (12 July), is administered by the newly formed Music Declares Emergency (MDE) group. Signatories include promoters SJM Concerts, Festival Republic and Crosstown Concerts, Coda Agency, Music Venue Trust, artists Suede, Wolf Alice and Idles, and several labels and music publishers.

Alison Tickell, MD of Julie’s Bicycle, a member of the MDE working group, says the declaration represents a significant moment in the British music industry’s collective response to climate change. “It has never been more important to understand the gravity of the climate crisis and to do more,” says Tickell. “Music Declares Emergency was created to enable the UK music industry to declare a climate and ecological emergency, to accelerate collaboration and ambition in order to meet critical targets, and to call on government to use their policy and investment tools to help us to reach those goals.”

The declaration reads:

• We call on governments and media institutions to tell the truth about the climate and ecological emergency
• We call on governments to act now to reverse biodiversity loss and reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2030
• We recognise that the emergency has arisen from global injustices and will work towards systemic change to protect life on Earth
• We acknowledge the environmental impact of music industry practices and commit to taking urgent action.

We will:

• Jointly support one another, sharing expertise as a collective industry and community
• Speak up and out about the climate and ecological emergency
• Work towards making our businesses ecologically sustainable and regenerative

“We face a climate and ecological emergency and the only proportionate response is to act boldly and act now”

Mike Smith, managing director of MDE signatory Warner Chappell Music UK, comments: “It’s vital that we back this campaign. The threat from climate change is real and we all need to play our part in combating it. Music may not have the impact of some other industries, but we can still do more to reduce our own carbon footprint and use our platform to spread the message that action needs to be taken.”

“As I sat at a music festival in the desert, watching Extinction Rebellion’s action unfold so beautifully in London, I realised that something had to change,” adds Savages drummer and MDE working group member Fay Milton. “It seemed like the music world had lost touch with reality, partying like there’s no tomorrow, when ‘no tomorrow’ has become the forecast. On realising I wasn’t alone with these thoughts, Music Declares Emergency was born.

“The momentum of support has been huge and making a declaration is just the first step to creating real change. We face a climate and ecological emergency and the only proportionate response is to act boldly and act now.”

Organisations and individuals in the music industry can sign the declaration at www.musicdeclares.net.

Sustainability in the live business and the industry’s response to climate change will once again take centre stage at the 12th Green Events & Innovations Conference (GEI), which takes place next March. GEI11 saw MDE signatory Coda partner with A Greener Festival to launch the first-ever Green Artist Rider

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Boosting the number of venues that have received the award to more than 50, Germany’s Green Music Initiative recently presented eight live venues with its Green Club Label to mark their commitment to energy efficiency.

Representatives from Domicil (500-cap.) in Dortmund, Zeche Carl (550-cap.) in Essen, Pension Schmidt in Münster, Utopiastadt in Wuppertal and Cologne venues Gebäude 9 (500-cap.), Artheater (400-cap.), Klubbar King Georg and Stadtgarten (400-cap.) joined Green Music Initiative founder Jacob Bilabel to receive the accreditation, which should see them make significant savings in the future.

“People think they will have to make big adjustments, but that’s not true,” he explains. “We use the strapline ‘Bright, Colourful, Loud’ to describe the programme.

“On average, venues can generate 15–25% savings in their energy use”

“It’s all about common-sense things like looking at your refrigerators and turning off lights when they’re not needed, but on average, venues can generate 15–25% savings in their energy use.”

While, in Germany, the ministry for the environment provides funding to help participating venues, Bilabel says equivalent programmes are popping up across Europe, with Julie’s Bicycle in the UK tapping into Arts Council funding and organisations elsewhere exploring similar green schemes.

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T in the Park (TITP) promoter DF Concerts is confident the Scottish festival is “back on track” following the first test last weekend of its highly publicised new configuration.

TITP underwent a process of transformation for 2016 under new festival director Melvin Benn, with a more spacious arena, a larger, better-stewarded campsite and improved transport infrastructure designed to eliminate the traffic congestion and violence that plagued last year’s event.

Paying tribute to the two people who died on Friday, festival director and DF Concerts CEO Geoff Ellis says: “We had a tragic start to the event, and our thoughts are still with the families and friends.

“Over the rest of the weekend the music has been incredible, with generations of musicians coming to Strathallan to perform. From emerging acts playing their hearts out on the T Break stage to veteran rockers belting out tunes we all know and love, T in the Park continues to bring the best acts in the world to Scotland.

“I must extend a thanks to all our partners for their valued contribution to getting T in the Park back on track”

“We valued every piece of feedback fans gave us in 2015 and this year we’re delighted that they’ve enjoyed the improved arena layout. I must extend a thanks to all of our multi-agency partners – Perth & Kinross Council, Transport Scotland, Police Scotland, NHS Tayside and the Scottish Ambulance Service – for their valued contribution to getting T in the Park back on track. Special thanks also to the local community for their support – we look forward to being good neighbours for years to come.”

Although a spokeswoman for TITP declined to provide IQ with an exact figure, she did reveal that the festival failed to sell out, despite a reduction in capacity of 15,000.

The Stone Roses, Calvin Harris, Red Hot Chili Peppers and LCD Soundsystem headlined.

TITP didn’t have the only festival fatalities at the weekend: A man also died at Insomniac/Festival Republic’s Electric Daisy Carnival at the Milton Keynes Bowl (65,000-cap.) on Saturday.

“We were called to Milton Keynes Bowl at 1.23am on Sunday after reports that a man in his 20s had fallen ill,” said a Thames Valley Police spokesman in a statement. “The ambulance service was called to the scene but sadly the man was later pronounced dead.”

The spokesman added that the death was “not being treated as suspicious” and directed IQ to the coroner’s office for further information. (Nothing yet.)

BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac has partnered with promoter London Warehouse Events for the launch of The AMP (Annie Mac Presents) All Day Raves, a series of ‘mini-festivals’ taking place in Birmingham, Leeds and London in September and October.

In addition to DJ sets by Mac herself, performers include Basement Jaxx (DJ set) and Eats Everything at Tobacco Dock in London on 1 October, Groove Armada (DJ set) at Canal Mills in Leeds on 25 September and everyone’s favourite fake pirate radio station, Kurupt FM (of People Just Do Nothing fame) at Rainbow Venues in Birmingham on 24 September. (Basement Jaxx photo by Tarquin Clark Photography.)

Reading and Leeds Festivals have revealed the artists and comedians appearing on the Alternative Stage at this year’s events.

Leading the comedy line-up are Russell Howard and, in his second Reading/Leeds appearance, Bill Bailey, with Marcus Brigstocke, Katherine Ryan, Lee Nelson, Sara Pascoe and Russell Kane also appearing.

Also on the bill are laugh-a-minute political commentator Owen Jones, who will slot into a kind of Jeremy Corbyn-at-Glastonbury role with his brand of left-wing politics, a Grandmaster Flash DJ set (at Leeds only – sorry, Reading) and indie club night Propaganda.

Reading and Leeds, promoted by Festival Republic, takes place from 26 to 28 August. (Grandmaster Flash photo by Victor Frankowski.)

Mysteryland was 2015’s most energy-efficient festival, according to environmental charity Julie’s Bicycle.

The Dutch dance music event reduced its energy emissions by 28% per day compared to 2014 – and by 44% since 2011 – last year through, among other things, promoting car-sharing and the use of biodiesel, providing shuttle-buses for attendees and recycling and composting 7% of its waste, earning itself a four-star Creative Green assessment from Julie’s Bicycle.

The 2016 edition of Mysteryland is headlined by Afrojack, Diplo and Martin Garrix and takes place on 27 and 28 August. (Photo by Q-dance.)

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