The touring industry has reflected on a year of “leading by example” on sustainability as it marks Earth Day 2025.

A global movement highlighting the importance of environmental protection, Earth Day launched in the US in 1970 and is celebrated on 22 April each year.

The annual event has given the business a chance to take stock of its progress on green issues following a significant 12 months, which included Massive Attack’s pioneering Act 1.5 show in their native Bristol last August. Held on Clifton Downs, the AEG-backed 32,000-cap concert was powered by 100% renewable energy and broke a world record for producing the lowest ever carbon emissions.

The band are also set to deliver a 100% battery-powered festival headline set during the inaugural LIDO Festival in London this summer, and will build on the sustainability methods first trialled in Bristol with a weekend of live music at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena between 28-30 November this year.

Claire O’Neill, co-founder of A Greener Future (AGF) – which was responsible for advanced planning, on-site sustainability management and coordination, post-event analysis and reporting for the Bristol gig – credits the live music sector for showing the way forward.

“2024 has been a year of leading by example,” she tells IQ. “We were a part of the world record-breaking low carbon show, Massive Attack Act 1.5 Climate Action Accelerator, which was 100% plant-based for audience, crew and artists, 100% powered by battery charged by green tariff grid, and with extra trains and EV buses laid on for audience transport.

“Act 1.5 subsequently collaborated with Liverpool City and the UN to create the global initiative UN Accelerator City for Climate Action, which encourages city-wide collaborative action through TV, film and the live sector.”

“There’s been incredible progress over the past year”

O’Neill praises Grid Faeries x Ecotricity for getting festivals and event sites “off diesel and onto grid”, while providing 1MW battery power that can entirely power large main stages, including the Arcadia Dragonfly at Glastonbury, Womad and Massive Attack’s Bristol gig. In the UK, the Live Events Energy Scheme (LEES) was launched with LIVE, Ecotricity and AGF for the live sector to collectively purchase renewable energy.

In addition, O’Neill references AGF’s Annual Festival Sustainability Insights, which showed that more festivals across Europe are going plant-based, and that the equivalent emissions of food and drink can be more than 30% of the entire event impact, including travel, and can be drastically reduced by eliminating meat and dairy.

UK trade body LIVE also announced a groundbreaking sustainability initiative aimed at driving the adoption of greener working practices across the board. The scheme introduced a contractual clause template for artists booking contracts, with the goal of galvanising industry-wide action and transforming the environmental impact of live events.

Battery-powered shows have also been embraced by artists including Billie Eilish, Bruce Springsteen, Lukas Graham and Dave Matthews Band, festivals such as Austin City Limits, Lollapalooza and venues including the Netherlands’ Johan Cruijff ArenA.

Live Nation’s Electric Picnic powered its main stage with 100% renewable energy from the grid, while hydrogen power units were deployed at Latitude, Openair Frauenfeld, and Isle of Wight for zero-emission electricity

“There’s been incredible progress over the past year, which we’ve witnessed firsthand across our festivals,” says a Live Nation spokesperson. “Throughout all our festivals we’ve also increased the use of HVO biofuel and expanded grid connection to eliminate fossil fuel-powered generators.

“We’re also seeing more industry-wide collaboration. Our involvement in the Green Events Code of Practice has helped create practical guidelines for event organisers, while Festival Republic’s support of the The Show Will Go On report is giving festivals and promoters the tools they need to improve their sustainability efforts – setting achievable standards and a 2030 transition plan that everyone in the industry can follow.”

“Every day seems to bring a new initiative or report focusing on the events industry, and there have been some major strides taken”

The spokesperson adds that German festivals Splash! and Melt were selected to take part on the ECO2CONCERT research project funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs and Transport to develop an innovative energy and mobility planning and monitoring platform for music festivals.

Sam Booth, who was appointed as AEG Europe’s first director of sustainability in 2023, has been heartened by developments in the field.

“Every day seems to bring a new initiative or report focusing on the events industry, and there have been some major strides taken with events like Act 1.5 taking place,” he says. “Whilst there remains some significant headwinds, there is still plenty of hugely encouraging work happening and that’s enough to look to the future with confidence.”

In terms of the remainder of 2025, Booth is calling for the utilisation of new technologies like batteries, and products such as Notpla plastic-free packaging to help “hack the traditional event ecosystem without altering the fan experience”.

Live Nation is pushing forward on two fronts – decarbonisation and waste reduction. Efforts to reduce its carbon emissions include rolling out LED lighting across its venues, exploring solar options, and getting more festivals connected to the grid and powered by HVO biofuel.

“We’re also prioritising waste reduction through improved campsite awareness campaigns for festivalgoers and smarter onsite sorting to boost our recycling efforts,” adds a company spokesperson.

“Faster action is needed to move away from burning fuel to reduce costs and prevent further climate change and air pollution”

Top of O’Neill’s priorities, meanwhile, is to increase the plant-based food consumed and served at events.

“Industrial animal agriculture is one of the main drivers of climate change and biodiversity loss,” she says. “Going plant-based significantly reduces our negative environmental impact, whilst not costing anything.”

O’Neill also stresses the need to strengthen partnerships and collaboration with governments, local authorities and other key industries to “accelerate effective and affordable change”.

AGF today released its Low Emission Festivals Report, which revealed the current status and future trends in the use of power at festivals. Key takeaways include that nearly 70% of survey respondents indicated they are working to reduce energy consumption and festivals are adopting hybrid battery systems, transitioning to grid power and using more energy-efficient equipment like LED lights.

Other findings were that 76% of festivals still use diesel generators; high costs and logistical challenges were obstacles to implementing sustainable energy solutions; and festivals engage with power providers too late to optimise their energy consumption.

“We’ve known for more than a decade that event power requirements are over specified – meaning they make inefficient use of generators – and have been aware of the need to use low carbon alternatives, yet despite this, progress has been slow,” says O’Neill. “Faster action is needed to move away from burning fuel to reduce costs and prevent further climate change and air pollution.

“This report provides insight for organisers and power providers to work collaboratively for these outcomes, in an equitable and sustainable way.”

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Top names from the live entertainment and environmental fields assembled today for the 17th edition of Green Events and Innovations (GEI17), the leading conference for event sustainability.

Organised by A Greener Future (AGF) in partnership with the International Live Music Conference (ILMC), the event attracted hundreds of delegates to London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel, kicking off ILMC Week.

Headline session Act 1.5 and Beyond focused on the groundbreaking work of Massive Attack and their collaborators, following their huge proof-of-concept show in Bristol last year, and UN Accelerator City being awarded to Liverpool in 2024. Hosted by AGF’s Claire O’Neill, the session featured environmentalist Dale Vince (Ecotricity/Forest Green Rovers) and professor of climate and energy policy Carly McLachlan (Tyndall Centre), plus special guest – writer and Act 1.5 lead producer Mark Donne.

“The theory and critique was important, but we didn’t want to just produce reports… [the idea was to] bring as many identities together and create a proof-of-concept show,” said Donne. “We know it works, we know fans want to do it and buy into it, but how do you begin to proliferate this stuff? How do you scale it? How do you work with government and authorities?”

Held last August on Clifton Downs, the 32,000-cap Massive Attack gig was powered by 100% renewable energy and has now been confirmed as breaking a world record for producing the lowest ever carbon emissions.

“We went about it by initially developing this super low carbon live music roadmap, which was setting out some targets for different areas of emissions,” explained McLachlan. “Act 1.5 in Bristol last summer was putting the elements of the road map into practice.

“The thing for us as scientists working with Act 1.5 as a partner is that they wanted to get stuck in there. This collaborative process was really central.”

“Act 1.5 has demonstrated that it is possible to run a significant outdoor event entirely from batteries without any diesel generator back up”

McLachlan has co-authored a newly published report reviewing the performance of the Act 1.5 show against the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Super-Low Carbon Live Music Roadmap.

The report concludes that Act 1.5 “demonstrated that it is possible to run a significant outdoor event entirely from batteries without any diesel generator back up”, adding that: “Emissions associated with onsite electricity were at least 81% lower than the counterfactual event running on diesel generators.”

AGF was responsible for advanced planning, on-site sustainability management and coordination, post-event analysis and reporting for the concert. Donne revealed the show was originally planned for Liverpool, but switched to Bristol to serve as a homecoming for Massive Attack.

“Part of the reason why Massive Attack decided to do the show in the Downs was because there’s an existing festival there [Forwards], which is run by Team Love, who are effectively our hosts, and they were every bit as committed as we were in this initiative,” added Donne.

The GEI panel stressed the need to “break down barriers” with the wider industry, so that others can follow the example.

“We’re down here talking about sustainability, they’re talking about something else,” said Donne. “We need to be in the same room. They wouldn’t exist without everyone in this room, and we need to break that barrier down and stop having reductive conversations about individual exercises. We need to talk to the government, but world leaders making hundreds of millions of pounds in profit every year need to start stepping up.”

Act 1.5 also included a 100% vegan menu, while extra trains and free EV buses were organised for the audience.

“Foods brought a 90% reduction in emissions. Artist travel [saw a] 73% reduction,” said McLachlan.

“GWR [Great Western Railway] were amazing to work with,” said Donne. “We want to get to a position quite quickly where we can partner with a show and there is a rail presale of 48 hours with something like GB Rail being the sponsor.”

“There wasn’t much choice when it came to food & beverage 20 years ago”

Asked about other initiatives similar to Act 1.5, McLachlan added: “We heard a lot from others we interviewed that often in production, there’s good intent in the beginning, but then you hit some bumps. There’s pressure from commercial and time aspect, but you have to find a solution that’s in that super low carbon space.”

Earlier, the opening Food & Drinks: Impacts & Emotions – The Cow in the Room session explored the impact of sustainable food & beverage within the live event industry. It heard that while the easiest issue to solve on a practical level, F&B has long faced resistance from profit-driven companies and event audiences who are hesitant to attempt plant-based alternatives that would greatly reduce their carbon footprints.

“There wasn’t much choice when it came to food & beverage 20 years ago, but what we’ve noticed over the past five to eight years, especially from the younger generation, is a huge drive towards wellness and understanding the provenance of product,” said Adam Hempenstall of festivals & events bar operator Peppermint. “There are more indie breweries such as Small Beer and Purity that are producing more information and are being more transparent about the carbon footprint of their processes, and there is absolutely a higher interest in locally-produced F&B nowadays.”

While the focus of the Events in the New Climate: Damage Limitation panel was on the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles last month, Megan Best of Native Events recalled her experiences being at festivals such Co Kildare’s Forever Young in Ireland as an example of the ruinous effects that extreme weather has on live events.

“These extreme weather events are tough enough for us when it comes to the human & financial cost, but there’s a huge natural cost as well,” she explained, adding that we have quickly gotten used to “once having a wet Glastonbury, to enduring more intense tropical rainfall over the last decade”.

Further panel reports from GEI17 will appear in IQ in the coming days.

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Massive Attack is set to deliver a 100% battery-powered festival headline set during the inaugural LIDO Festival in London this summer.

The British duo, comprised of Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja and Grant ‘Daddy G’ Marshall, will expand on their Act 1.5 show series during the AEG-backed event. Last year, the group pioneered decarbonised live music events with shows in their native Bristol and Liverpool.

In partnership with clean energy provider Ecotricity, the hip-hop group plans to deliver a historic day in the UK capital, their first London festival show in nearly a decade.

“To present London’s first ever 100% battery-powered festival day with a dynamic range of artists is an optimum outcome for us. History shows it’s often the combination of art and science that overcomes the greatest challenges we face, so it’s good to see LIDO take learnings from our ACT1.5 event last year and apply those technologies to where they see emissions coming from,” Del Naja says.

“Clean productions beginning this journey to normalisation is good news for everyone, but especially for music fans that come to festivals and the local communities that live around them.”

LIDO is part of AEG’s efforts toward “a broader adoption of industry-leading sustainability principles across AEG European Festivals”, says Jim King, AEG Presents’ CEO of European Festivals.

“Big changes require both courage and determination, and I cannot speak highly enough of Massive Attack and their team for embracing the challenge of launching this important initiative. AEG was fortunate to collaborate with Massive Attack on the ACT 1.5 event in Bristol last summer, which set the standard and inspired our team to continue the work they have started at LIDO,” he says.

“A new line has been drawn in the sand for what we expect of events of all sizes”

Following the initial Bristol performance, A Greener Future’s Claire O’Neill hailed the climate-action concert as a “new dawn” for sustainable events.

“A new line has been drawn in the sand for what we expect of events of all sizes, and what can be done when you really put your mind to it, and your money where your mouth is. I think that we’re going to see fewer and fewer diesel generators being used in the coming years, finally,” she said at the time.

O’Neill will deliver a session on Act 1.5 and the future of battery-power events during both the Green Events and Innovations Conference next Tuesday, 25 February and ILMC Futures Forum next Friday, 28 February.

Support for the day will come from French duo Air, Yasiin Bey, and The Alchemist are FORENSICS, with additional names to be announced. Massive Attack round out LIDO’s headliners, and join Jamie xx (Saturday 7 June), OUTBREAK Fest (Friday 13 June), Charli xcx’s own party girl festival (Saturday 14 June) and London Grammar (Sunday 15 June) for the inaugural event.

Sustainability is at the forefront of some UK events this year, with Boomtown launching a hydrogen-powered stage in partnership with Hydrologiq. Organisers claim they will be the first major UK festival to host a stage of this nature.

The effort adds to previous efforts between the partners, as Hydrologiq provided power to the public transport hub via a hydrogen-powered generator for the festival and the week preceding in 2022.

This year’s edition, set for 6-10 August, will feature Maribou State, the Sex Pistols ft. Frank Carter, Sean Paul, Overmono, Hybrid Minds, Nia Archives, and more.

Festivals in Norway, Germany, the US, the UK, and Brazil have added a variety of names

In additional festival news, lineups across the world have added a variety of names.

Norway’s Øyafestivalen has recently added Mk.gee, BICEP, Lola Young, Kelly Lee Owens, Anna of the North, and Yung Lean & Bladee to its impressive lineup. The 6-9 August event will be headlined by Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, and Queens of the Stone Age.

The UK’s Rock N Roll Circus will also boast Queens of the Stone Age, along with the Viagra Boys, Fat Dog, the Bug Club, and So Good in Sheffield on 27 August. They join Reverend and The Makers, headlining another day in Sheffield, along with McFly, Courteneers, Olly Murs, Sam Ryder, and more for the three-day Norwich edition of the festival.

Norway’s Bergenfest has finalised its lineup, adding names including Lucy Dacus, Anna of the North, Lambrini Girls, Confidence Man, 070 Shake, The Wombats, and Princess Nokia. The four-day festival, set on the grounds of a medieval castle and fortress in the Bergen city centre, returns from 11-14 June and will be led by Alanis Morissette, Roxette, The The, Kjartan Lauritzen, Benjamin Ingrosso, and Aurora.

Germany’s Parookaville, set for 18-20 July, has announced Alok, Artbat, Felix Jaehn, and Kshmr will join as headliners, adding to a programme led by Afrojack, Armin van Buuren, Steve Aoki, and more.

Mariah Carey, Jessie J, and Camilla Cabello will head up Brazil’s The Town in September

Hamburg’s MS Dockville will be headed up by Raye, alongside The Last Dinner Party, Lola Young, Royel Otis, Sigrid, Peter Doherty, and Milleniumkid. The two-day festival will take place from 15-16 August.

The US’s Oceans Calling will see Green Day, Lenny Kravitz, Noah Kahan, Vampire Weekend, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer top the bill, along with co-organisers O.A.R. The C3 Presents-backed festival lands in Ocean City, Maryland from 26-28 September.

Across the country, FairWell Festival will return to Oregon from 18-19 July, led by Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson. Dwight Yoakam, Sierra Farrell, Cody Jinks, Koe Wetzel, Flatland Cavalry, Tanya Tucker, and Ludacris will also perform.

The UK’s End of The Road recently added nearly 100 names to its 28-31 August event, including Viagra Boys, The National frontman Matt Berninger, DIIV, Christopher Owens, Katy J Pearson, Mabe Fratti, and Sofia Kourtesis. Caribou, Father John Misty, Self Esteem, and Black Country, New Road will also feature.

Nottinghamshire’s Forbidden Forest has unveiled the second phase of its lineup, adding Marco Carola, Andy C, I Hate Models, Sam Divine, Sota, and Charlie Sparks to its 29 May-1 June event.

And Brazil’s The Town will return this September, with Mariah Carey, Jessie J, Camilla Cabello, and Ivete Sangalo revealed as the São Paulo festival’s first stars.

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Massive Attack have cancelled their US tour at the last minute due to what they describe as “unforeseen circumstances”.

The British trip-hop band were set to perform in the US for the first time in five years, with the first concert scheduled for this Thursday (17 October) at Atlanta’s Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre.

Other US dates included a performance at III Points Festival in Miami FL, and headline shows in Atlanta GA, Washington DC, Boston MA, and Forest Hills NY before the end of the month.

“Due to unforeseen circumstances, Massive Attack must regrettably cancel their upcoming performances”

“Due to unforeseen circumstances, Massive Attack must regrettably cancel their upcoming performances…We appreciate your understanding at this time,” reads a statement from the band.

Massive Attack are represented by UTA in North and South America.

The band recently announced a weekend of live music at Liverpool‘s M&S Bank Arena next month, featuring IDLES and Nile Rodgers, under the banner Act 1.5 presents…

The announcement came on the heels of Act 1.5, the band’s groundbreaking eco-friendly concert in their home city of Bristol.

Read IQ‘s recent interview with A Greener Future’s Claire O’Neill about Act 1.5 in Bristol here.

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The live events industry is facing increasing scrutiny for its environmental footprint. Large-scale events with massive crowds, complex logistics, and extensive energy consumption, can contribute significantly to carbon emissions and waste generation. However, new opportunities are emerging to rethink the way live music events are staged.

M&S Bank Arena Liverpool is at the forefront of this revolution. In collaboration with Massive Attack, Act 1.5 and SJM Concerts, the venue is hosting a series of groundbreaking shows headlined by Massive Attack, IDLES and Nile Rodgers & Chic, and designed to test ways to minimise environmental impact. Building upon the success of Act 1.5’s Bristol accelerator, these events aim to showcase innovative decarbonisation strategies that can be replicated across the industry.

The unique series of shows is being staged to celebrate the recent announcement that Liverpool is the world’s first ‘UN Accelerator City’ for climate action – an accolade to recognise the city’s commitment to innovation and smart regulation to rapidly decarbonise the live music and TV/film production sectors.

Building on the methods first trialled in Bristol, and continuing their partnership with clean energy provider Ecotricity, ‘Act 1.5 presents…’ has a variety of incentives in place to dramatically reduce the level of carbon emissions that would usually be produced at an event of this scale. These include:

• A localised presale period for anyone living in the Liverpool City Region
• An entire event site powered by 100% renewable energy.
• A public transport incentive initiative in partnership with Merseytravel and Avanti West Coast .that will generate a vital reduction in audience travel emissions (where up to 80% of emissions for major live music events are generated)
• Single technical set up shared by each act
• Show to end at 22:00 to allow audiences to use public transport to get home
• A meat free arena
• 100% zero to landfill waste removal
• Zero Single-Use Plastics

“The success of this initiative has the potential to inspire other venues and artists to adopt similar practices”

The majority of carbon emissions and air pollution for major live events comes from how the audience travel. To try and tackle this issue, tickets for this unique event were released in two blocks.

The first block release was available to those that live in the Liverpool City region, with an exclusive 48-hour regional presale taking place. For these ticket buyers, an additional small but fixed fee was added to gig tickets to cover public transport to the event. This will mean that on the day of the show, attendees can enjoy unlimited travel on any train, any bus or any ferry on the Merseytravel network – all day – getting them to and from the show.

In the second block release of tickets, all fans were able to purchase tickets. Offers and incentives on public transport from outside the region – especially rail travel – were shared with buyers via their ticketing agent.

Alongside the live concerts, a headline industry event, called Expedition 1, will be taking place in the arena’s sister venue, Exhibition Centre Liverpool, from 29-30 November to test and showcase eight cross-sectoral pilot projects for rapid decarbonisation across live music, TV and film productions scheduled in 2025.

The success of this initiative has the potential to inspire other venues and artists to adopt similar practices. By demonstrating that it is possible to stage large-scale events in a sustainable manner, ‘Act 1.5 Presents…’ is paving the way for a greener future for the music industry.

As Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack commented, “The talking stage is over, it’s time to act.” By taking bold steps to reduce its environmental footprint, M&S Bank Arena is leading the charge towards a more sustainable and responsible future for live music.

More info on ‘Act 1.5 Presents…’ can be found here. Sign up for updates about Expedition 1 Industry Event here.

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Massive Attack has announced a weekend of live music in Liverpool, featuring IDLES and Nile Rodgers, under the banner Act 1.5 presents…

Last month, the British band delivered a groundbreaking eco-friendly concert in their home city of Bristol, dubbed Act 1.5.

The all-day outdoor event was a “manifestation” of a carbon emissions report commissioned by Massive Attack and conducted by scientists at the University of Manchester’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.

Today, Massive Attack and the Act 1.5 partners have announced a weekend event at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena between 28–30 November which will build on the sustainability methods first trialled in Bristol.

Continuing their partnership with clean energy provider Ecotricity, ‘Act 1.5 presents…’ will test, operate and adapt a range of measures to dramatically reduce the level of carbon emissions and air pollution that would usually be produced at an event of this scale.

These measures include a localised presale period for anyone living in the Liverpool City Region, an entire event site powered entirely by 100% renewable energy, a public transport incentive initiative to reduce travel emissions, a meat-free arena, 100% zero to landfill waste removal and a single technical set up shared by each act.

“Our recent Bristol show demonstrated beyond question that major live music events can be Paris 1.5 compatible”

News of Act 1.5 presents… coincides with today’s announcement at UN Headquarters in New York that Liverpool is the world’s first ‘UN Accelerator City’ for climate action.

“Our recent Bristol show demonstrated beyond question that major live music events can be Paris 1.5 compatible, and that audiences will embrace change enthusiastically,” says Robert Del Naja, 3D – Massive Attack.

“The vast scope of work in Liverpool and UN recognition means we can now concentrate more dynamic pilots and experiments to rapidly phase out fossil fuels. This idea and this insistence are not going back in any box. We’re delighted to see artists like Coldplay testing elements like localised ticket pre-sales as recommended in the Tyndall Centre Paris 1.5 decarbonisation road map and encourage other artists to do so freely. The talking stage is over, it’s time to act.”

Nile Rogers adds: “Some of the greatest CHIC shows have taken place in Liverpool so I’m thrilled that we are bringing our funk back to the city. We love the people and it’s always a night to remember. However, the circumstances this time are special, as we’re joining forces with our friends in Massive Attack to launch Liverpool’s UN climate action programme across music and film.

“Our We Are Family Foundation community of global youth changemakers have been sounding the alarm and working in the climate change space for years, as have Massive Attack, and now it’s time for all of the music and film communities to get onboard. Yes, we’re going to have a party at Liverpool Arena, but we’re also going to act!”

Read IQ‘s recent interview with A Greener Future’s Claire O’Neill about Act 1.5 in Bristol here.

For more information on Act 1.5 presents… click here.

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A Greener Future (AGF) co-founder Claire O’Neill has hailed a “new dawn” for sustainable live music events after Massive Attack’s groundbreaking eco-friendly concert.

The British band recently delivered their first show in five years, dubbed Act 1.5, which was powered by 100% renewable energy.

Held at Clifton Downs in their home city of Bristol, the concert, production and catering were powered entirely by battery and solar power.

AGF was responsible for advanced planning, on-site sustainability management and coordination, post-event analysis and reporting for the 35,000-capacity concert.

“This show has really pushed the boundaries and shown what is possible in events at scale,” says O’Neill, who has worked on sustainability in live events for 20 years.

“A huge amount of work and effort has gone into the greening of the live sector over time albeit often isolated or on the fringes without becoming the norm. I’ve never seen the entire main stage of a 35,000-capacity event solely depend entirely on a battery which is solely powered by the wind and the sun with no diesel back-up, with 100% vegan menu and extra trains and free EV buses organised for the audience.”

“I think that we’re going to see fewer and fewer diesel generators being used in the coming years, finally”

“A new line has been drawn in the sand for what we expect of events of all sizes, and what can be done when you really put your mind to it, and your money where your mouth is. I think that we’re going to see fewer and fewer diesel generators being used in the coming years, finally.”

Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity and co-founder of Grid Faeries alongside O’Neill, which provided the giant renewable charged batteries, is inclined to agree: “We’ve had several enquiries off the back of the concert and I think it’s only a matter of time before batteries take over from diesel – that’s our intention as the Grid Faeries.”

In fact, battery-powered shows have already been embraced by artists including Billie Eilish, Bruce Springsteen, Lukas Graham and Dave Matthews Band, festivals such as Lollapalooza and venues such as the Netherlands’ Johan Cruijff ArenA.

As O’Neill explains, the Act 1.5 concert was a “manifestation” of a carbon emissions report commissioned by Massive Attack and conducted by scientists at the University of Manchester’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.

Findings from the report and the event will be used to develop a roadmap for the live music industry to make events compatible with the 1.5-degree temperature change limit specified in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

“So many people came together to make this happen,” adds O’Neill. “Huge respect to Make Donne who has been working on Act 1.5 along with the band for the last five years, and Jamal Chalabi who went beyond the role of tour managing to navigate much of the sustainability actions of the show on the Bristol Downs.”

“There’s a real fear of stepping away from business as usual – especially when there’s a perceived risk”

But O’Neill says it was the cross-sector collaboration that made the concert viable – particularly in regards to travel, which the report found to be “the single largest contributor to an outdoor event’s carbon footprint”.

To remedy this, Great Western Railway put on specially commissioned trains while Zenobe provided eight fully electric double-decker buses among other things. All vehicles used for transporting batteries and recharging the concert were either fully electric or CNG. Where EV wasn’t possible for trucking and tour buses all suppliers were encouraged to use certified or fuelled by certified waste product HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) fuel.

While these partnerships were invaluable to the event, O’Neill says more infrastructure is needed when it comes to making live music events sustainable.

“We need the rail networks to be cheaper,” says O’Neill. “We need to be able to have drivers or operations happening later if we’re going to have gigs later. There’s infrastructure that needs to be built. We did the composting of all the serverware but we had to take it to a site in West London because there were no in-vessel composters that could process that type of material in the southwest. So these are the kinds of things that we need to work with other sectors on.”

O’Neill has also called on the “bigger players in the industry” to ensure that Act 1.5 is the beginning of a tide change.

“There’s a real fear of stepping away from business as usual – especially when there’s a perceived risk,” she explains. “There is often a resistance to change but what was lovely to see with Act 1.5 is that people who were sceptical at the start came on board by the end and were excited to be a part of something that has a positive impact and worked.”

“The economics have caught up with the environmental reasoning at this stage”

As for misconceptions about the affordability of sustainable events, O’Neill argues: “There’s funding available and finances to build out the grid. Economics has caught up with environmental reasoning at this stage. It makes economic sense to change, and even more so when we factor in the cost of not taking climate action.”

The new Labour government in the UK is also a source of optimism for the AGF chief: “There’s a kind of a green light for green sectors to start making the solutions available, and which connects into temporary events as well. Our ultimate aim with the Grid Faeries, for instance, is to work with sites where connecting to the grid is a possibility. The batteries are a stepping stone towards making sites that are used regularly actually fit for purpose, so you don’t truck in a lot of extra equipment. And then when we build out the grid, where possible we build new renewables too, which will move us towards energy independence as a country.”

Excuses banished, O’Neill concludes: “Rather than it being like ‘Oh yes, the green event stuff is all very nice but the technology is not there yet, or it’s too expensive, or we can’t take that kind of risk on the headliner of the show. Actually, that’s all been proven now. We’ve done it and so from here, we can just keep on building from that.”

AGF are now working together on the post-event analysis supporting Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, which will help form a blueprint for eco-friendly touring that will be made publicly available.

Findings from the event will be presented at the 17th edition of the Green Events & Innovations Conference (GEI).

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British band Massive Attack have pulled out of their upcoming concert in Georgia in protest against the government’s “attack on basic human rights”.

The gig was set to take place on 28 July at the Black Sea Arena (cap. 9,000) near Batumi, the country’s second-largest city.

It was announced in April as part of Starring Georgia, a two-year campaign that has brought international stars such as OneRepublic, Scorpions and Jungle to the country.

The cancellation of Massive Attack’s concert was initially announced by organisers, who claimed that it had been made due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

But in a statement issued a few hours later on Wednesday (12 June), the trip-hop band clarified that they feared appearing in Georgia would be seen as an endorsement of the country’s political leadership.

Hundreds of thousands of people have massed outside Georgia’s parliament in recent months to protest against a “foreign agents” law. It obliges media and civil society organisations with over 20% of their revenues from abroad to register as “organisations serving the interests of a foreign power”.

The legislation has been described by Brussels as an obstacle to Georgia’s accession to the European Union, while the US state department has also raised its concerns that the “Kremlin-inspired law” is evidence that the country’s government is realigning with Moscow three decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, per The Guardian.

“Beatings, arrests, threats and violence… go against everything we stand for”

Those protesting against the law have been seized off the streets and political opponents have been beaten by both police officers and unidentified gangs.

Georgia’s ruling party also came under scrutiny earlier this year when it introduced a bill that would prevent same-sex marriages from being registered and ensure that only “heterosexuals” could adopt children.

At the same time, references to LGBTQ+ people would be erased from public spaces under the draft legislation, and schools would be banned from making available information that supposedly “promotes belonging to the opposite sex, same-sex relations or incest”.

“At this moment, performing at the state-owned Black Sea Arena could be seen as an endorsement of their violent crackdown against peaceful protests and civil society,” said Massive Attack in a statement.

“Beatings, arrests, threats and violence against peaceful protesters, activists and opponents, along with laws smearing civil society and denying LGBTI rights, go against everything we stand for.”

The Bristol band added that they stood in “solidarity with peaceful protesters in Georgia defying state violence and feel that it is their voices that need to be heard and their struggle that needs to be under the international spotlight”.

Organisers of the event said ticket holders would be refunded.

The news comes a month after 4GB Festival, an annual international electronic music festival held in Georgia since 2011, cancelled its 2024 edition amid the protests.

“Based on the situation in the country, we consider it unjustified to hold a festival at this time,” organisers wrote on Instagram. “Our full support to every person fighting for the European future of Georgia.”

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British band Massive Attack has announced their first concert in five years, which will be powered by 100% renewable energy.

The outdoor show, which will take place on Clifton Downs in their home city of Bristol, will have the lowest carbon footprint of any concert of its size, according to the band.

The concert, production and catering will be powered entirely by battery and solar power. In addition, food vendors will be vetted to ensure they use locally sourced produce and a “climate-resilient woodland plantation in the south-west region” will be created after the show.

The Act 1.5 concert, scheduled for 25 August 2024, will primarily target audience travel – “the single largest contributor to an outdoor event’s carbon footprint”.

Mark Donne, a filmmaker and climate activist who has worked with Massive Attack on several projects, said 65% to 85% of emissions for large-scale shows comes from audience travel. “This will be the first show that meaningfully deals with that,” he said.

“In terms of climate change action, there are no excuses left”

Massive Attack will give local fans priority when it comes to tickets, train travel will be encouraged, and the organisers are putting on free electric buses to ferry crowds back to Bristol Temple Meads station if they’ve come from farther afield.

The band said all vehicles used for the concert will either be electric or fuelled by certified waste product HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) fuel.

“We’re chuffed to play our home city again and to be able do it in the right way,” reads a statement from the band. “In terms of climate change action, there are no excuses left. Offsetting, endless seminars and diluted declarations have all been found out – so live music must drastically reduce all primary emissions and take account of fan travel.

“Working with pioneering partners on this project means we can seriously move the dial for major live music events and help create precedents.”

The concert is the band’s latest attempt to tackle the live industry’s carbon footprint. In 2021 Massive Attack created a guide for the music industry on how to combat climate change, in conjunction with the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. And in 2019 the band decided to tour by train rather than flying between European concerts.

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British band Massive Attack are calling on the government to introduce a plan to cut carbon emissions in the live music business.

It comes after the band commissioned the University of Manchester for a report on the issue using their tour data.

The result of the report is a resource entitled ‘Roadmap To Super Low Carbon Live Music’ which is designed to support the sector’s reduction of emissions in line with the UN Paris Agreement.

While the report makes a number of recommendations for sectors across the live industry, Massive Attack’s Robert del Naja (aka 3D) says the sector ultimately needs more government support in order to achieve its goal.

“Our sector is operating in a government void”

“Our sector is operating in a government void,” says Robert del Naja (aka 3D), Massive Attack. “Nine weeks out of COP26, where is the industrial plan, or any plan at all, for the scale of transformation that’s required for the UK economy and society?

“Fossil fuel companies seem to have no problem at all getting huge subsidies from government, but where is the plan for investment in clean battery technology, clean infrastructure or decarbonised food supply for a live music sector that generates £4.6 billion for the economy every year & employs more than 200k dedicated people? It simply doesn’t exist.”

The report lists a number of actions for local and national governments including:

• Provide funding and support for venues looking to reduce their energy consumption, including for building fabric retrofit.
• Include requirements on on-site energy use and a plan for year on year improvements as part of licensing conditions.
• Liaise with venues and event sites to support public transport provision and communications.
• Provide charging points for electric vehicles close to venues.
• Include requirements on shared audience travel (e.g. carshare, coach) and a plan for year on year improvements as part of licensing conditions.
• Include requirements on reporting aviation emissions as part of licencing conditions and a plan for year on year improvements.
• Provide secure cycle parking close to venues.
• Provide a safe environment for walking, cycling and public transport by working with the late-night licensed sector to make areas around venues safer particularly for groups most likely to be vulnerable.
• Work with local public transport providers to improve safety, accessibility and affordability of public transport.

“We hope that this roadmap can help to catalyse change by outlining the scale of action required”

Some of the key recommendations for the live music industry include:

• Plan tour routes in a way that minimises travel and transport.
• Include travel by public transport in the ticket price.
• Generate renewable energy on site, e.g. solar panels.
• Gig and concert venues should use renewable energy.
• Use energy-efficient lighting and sound equipment.
• Use electric vehicles and trains to travel between venues.
• Better bike storage at music venues.
• Avoiding flying and eliminating private jets.
• Perform at venues that are taking action to reduce their building energy use.
• Offer incentives to fans who choose to travel by public transport.

Professor Carly McLachlan from the University of Manchester’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, says: “We hope that this roadmap can help to catalyse change by outlining the scale of action required and how this maps across the different elements of a tour. To reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change, touring practices need to be reassembled differently as the industry emerges from the significant challenges that the pandemic has created.

“This starts from the very inception of a tour and requires the creativity and innovation of artists, managers, promoters, designers and agents to be unleashed to establish new ways of planning and delivering live music tours.”

Christopher Jones from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research will be presenting the ‘Roadmap To Super Low Carbon Live Music’ at the Green Events and Innovations Conference’s (GEI) upcoming Summer Edition – tickets for which are on sale now.

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