Concert travel is live music’s biggest climate challenge – and its biggest opportunity – according to a new study by environmental nonprofit Reverb.

The organisation surveyed more than 35,000 music fans across more than 400 concerts in over 170 cities throughout North America, assessing the carbon emissions associated with fan travel in an effort to better understand the climate impacts and opportunities.

The report, which is based on responses collected over two years, is part of Reverb’s Music Decarbonization Project – a campaign which aims to advance innovative climate solutions to directly eliminate carbon emissions created by the music industry.

Key findings included that 80% of gig-goers currently travel by personal vehicle, but only 65% prefer this
mode of transportation. The other most common modes include rideshare apps (9%), public transportation (9%), biking/walking (9%), planes (7%) and rail (2%).

Fan travel accounts for 527 metric tons of carbon emissions for an average show – 38x greater than the combined emissions from band and crew travel, hotel stays, and gear transportation. For large venues, the number rises to 824 metric tons per show, while smaller venues see an average of 92 metric tons.

However, the report found that concertgoers “overwhelmingly” support climate action within the music industry – with 94% of fans saying it is important to take meaningful action to reduce concert-related carbon emissions. In addition, 89% of respondents indicated they would be more interested in low-carbon travel options if better infrastructure, incentives and information were available.

“Our study underscores the carbon intensity of fan travel while highlighting significant interest in sustainable alternatives”

“Our study underscores the carbon intensity of fan travel while highlighting significant interest in sustainable alternatives,” reads the report. “Travel decisions, preferences, and intervention needs vary by venue size and geographic region, creating opportunities for tailored, data-driven solutions.

“By collaborating with artists, venues, promoters, and local stakeholders, the music industry can implement strategic interventions – such as enhanced public transit access, carpool incentives, and bike infrastructure – that align with fan desires and meaningfully reduce concert-related emissions.”

Reverb has a longstanding partnership with Billie Eilish, which is continuing on the singer’s ongoing Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour. The collaboration has previously resulted in more than $1 million being donated to environmental, greenhouse gas reduction, and climate justice projects.

Eilish last week announced the return of her Overheated event, which brings together climate activists, music fans and other leading voices. The event, which will take place in Berlin, Germany at the Festsaal Kreuzberg on 9 May and at Indigo at The O2 in London, UK on 14 July, will feature two days of discussion, community building and resources to help tackle the climate crisis.

To mark Earth Day on 22 April, A Greener Future (AGF), Live Nation and AEG Europe spoke to IQ about how the business is “leading by example” on sustainability here.

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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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Having prioritised sustainability from its inception in 1999, Norway’s Øyafestivalen has helped pave the way for greener music festivals.

The Superstruct-backed event (cap. 22,000) has hosted the likes of Arctic Monkeys, The Cure, Lana Del Rey, Beck, Blur, Kendrick Lamar and Florence and the Machine, all while working towards the title of the world’s greenest festival.

The Oslo-based gathering has received the highest appraisal from A Greener Festival no fewer than eleven times, and was the first-ever event to be certified by Norway’s Environmental Lighthouse. Last year, the festival went meat-free and received the highest level of organic food certification available in Norway.

To mark Earth Day, Øya’s head of sustainability Marie Furseth has shared five simple tips to help other events kickstart their sustainability journey.

Measure your environmental impact.
It sounds a bit boring but if you don’t measure, then you won’t know where to start. Start by measuring your CO2 emissions and then your local impact. A festival influences the shops in the area, the hotels, the tourist-related businesses and lots more. When you start to map out your emissions and your impact on your local environment, you can start seeing where to make changes. Nobody’s perfect, but if you can start doing something, then you’re on the right path. Then you see results and it’s really fun, and you will want to continue.

Waste management is a good place to start.
Like everything, waste management is based on local conditions, so you have to see what you can do where you are. But for starters, cut all the giveaways and all the crap you give people and focus on the fan experience because that’s what lasts. People having a good time at your event is also sustainability work – you’re making a local society, you’re supporting your local businesses and neighbours etc. Also, cut single-use plastic. We have reduced our waste a lot over the years by using reusable glasses and forbidding giveaways. We’re now up to 73% sorting ratio with our waste management.

“It’s important to unite everyone on the task of sustainability, and even try to make it a habit”

Be wary of audience and artist travel.
Our most daunting sustainability challenge is travel emissions, from both artists and fans. I think this is well known in the festival business now that fan travel really fucks up your CO2 emissions. It’s like doubling the entire emissions. This year, for the first time, we got some numbers on audience travel. Fortunately, more than 70% of our audience lives in Oslo, so they walk or take the metro or bike. It’s all the other people. The small percentage of people who don’t live in Norway account for more of the festival’s emissions connected to transport.

It’s difficult to improve audience travel because it’s so based on other people’s decisions but we’re going to try to work more with the rail companies, for example, to make the train travel more fun and interesting. And of course, we’d like to figure out a way to reward the people who travel green but we haven’t really landed anything yet because it’s basically the first year we have a total picture. And I’ve gotta say, we were all a bit surprised how much it was of the total.

Ensure everyone is aligned on sustainability, from staff to suppliers.
It’s important to unite everyone on the task, and even try to make it a habit, so that whatever decision they’re making, they’re thinking about the environmental impact too. If you’re changing the supplier for wristbands, for example, check that they’re better than the old ones. Check that they’re recycled etc. You have to think about sustainability all the time, but after a while it becomes automatic. People in the administration come to my desk all the time asking me random stuff that I don’t know the answer to but we can figure it out together. And then you can also try to bring
others aboard, like partners and sponsors etc.

Just get started.
You have to adjust to where you are in the world, but just get started. And if you want inspiration or you have questions, get in touch, and we’ll try to nudge people in the right direction.

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Festival staple Nordic has strengthened its environmental commitment with the introduction of Recycled Ocean Plastic wristbands.

The event identification and smart access technology specialist achieved a significant emissions reduction through sustainable manufacturing policies in 2024 and is also entering its fourth year partnering with the Stand For Trees campaign to balance unavoidable associated impacts.

Recycled Ocean Plastic wristbands have now been added to its range ahead of the summer season.

“Sustainability isn’t just a checkbox – it’s a responsibility”

“Sustainability isn’t just a checkbox – it’s a responsibility,” says Jone Nuutinen, founder of Nordic Wristbands. “This shift to recycled fabrics and Stand For Trees partnerships are part of our larger mission to minimise our environmental impact while delivering premium, tech-integrated solutions to events and experiences worldwide.”

By switching to recycled polyesters and organic materials to produce fabric wristbands and integrated NFC tech elements, the firm announced that it reduced production emissions from 302 tons to 168 tons of CO₂e in 2024 – a 44% decrease compared to the previous year – highlighting the impact that material choices can have in everyday products.

The environmental benefit in 2024 were equivalent to saving approximately 4,041 trees, recycling 8,746 full bags or 69 tonnes of mixed waste, replacing 7,658 light bulbs with energy-efficient LEDs or powering 39.3 homes with 100% renewable electricity for one year.

In addition to its emissions-reduction efforts, Nordic Wristbands offsets its annual production-related emissions via certified carbon offset initiatives.

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The 2025 International AGF Awards took place in London last night, honouring sustainability pioneers across the live events industry.

The awards – which were supported by Skydiamond and hosted by Madame Gandhi and AGF CEO Claire O’Neill – concluded the 17th edition of the Green Events and Innovation (GEI) conference.

Finalists of the awards included 34 events, venues and innovators from 14 countries with awards being presented across nine sustainability categories, including power, water, food, and travel.

One of the top accolades – the International Greener Festival Award 2025 – went to Norway’s Øyafestivalen, which also scooped the Greener Transport Award. In 2024 the festival went meat-free and got the highest level of organic food certification available in Norway.

Upon receiving the award, the festival’s head of sustainability Marie Furseth said: “It’s a massive pleasure, sustainability has been part of the holistic mindset for at least 20 years, probably more. It’s very important and we love what we do. We hope other festivals will follow.”

“Sustainability has been part of the holistic mindset for at least 20 years, probably more”

New for this year was the introduction of the International Greener Arena Award, won by Forest Green Rovers FC – The New Lawn for their local community work including Community Cookalongs, Soccer Camps and venue Eco Tours to their organic pitch with no use of pesticides or chemical fertilisers, and their 100% plant-based menu.

Echoes of Earth received the Circular Event Award, a first-time win for India. Another first-time winner was Waking Life in Portugal who took home the Water & Sanitation Award.

The UK took home two awards, with Greenbelt Festival winning the Pied Piper award for their “inspiring and thought-provoking programming” and Green Gathering winning the Greener Power Award having powered their festival with 100% renewable energy.

We Love Green in France won the Greener Catering Award with their plant-based menu, and the Community Action Award was won by the Paléo Festival Nyon in Switzerland for their extensive work with the community. The Greener Innovations Award went to Sziget Festival for their innovative Green Sziget Passport Games activation.

Finalists are selected from all AGF certified Greener Events, Festivals and Arenas over the past year, with top scores across key sustainability criteria. Applicants undergo a detailed assessment, site visits, and analysis by AGF auditors.

Each International AGF Award winner was issued with a trophy handcrafted of reclaimed wood by the organiser’s father Steve O’Neill, as well as a 0.7 carat “mined from the sky” diamond certified by the International Gemological Institute and gifted by award sponsors Skydiamond.

Full list of 2025 International AGF Award winners:
International Greener Festival Award – Øyafestivalen (NO)
International Greener Arena Award – Forest Green Rovers FC – the New Lawn (UK)
Greener Transport Award (Supported by KB Event) – Øyafestivalen (NO)
Circular Event Award (Supported by Ryans Cleaning) – Echoes of Earth (IN)
Community Action Award – Paléo Festival Nyon (CH)
Greener Catering Award (Supported by Peppermint Events) – We Love Green (FR)
Pied Piper Award – Greenbelt Festival (UK)
Greener Power Award – Green Gathering (UK)
Water & Sanitation Award – Waking Life (PT)
Greener Innovations Award – Green Sziget Passport Games @ Sziget Festival (HU)

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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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IQ 133, the 156-page, biggest-ever issue of the international live music industry’s leading magazine, is available to read online now.

With the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) fast approaching, the February 2025 issue reveals the full agenda for the sold-out 37th edition.

ITB co-founder Barry Dickins is honoured as part of The Architects – a new series celebrating the pioneers who built the foundations for the modern global business – and DF Concerts chief Geoff Ellis celebrates 40 years in the business.

The bumper edition also looks at the growing influence of African artists, legislative moves internationally to tackle resale, and the growing trend of artists broadcasting concert films.

Readers can enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at James Blunt’s anniversary tour 20 Years of Bedlam and a report on the trucking and freight forwarding industry. Elsewhere, the shrinking nature of tour routings is investigated and there is an in-depth report into the Italian live music industry.

For comments & columns, Ross Patel makes a case for everyone to battle the climate crisis while Jess Partridge argues against withholding tax rules.

A selection of magazine content will appear online in the next four weeks but to ensure your fix of essential live music industry features, opinion and analysis, click here to subscribe to IQ – or check out what you’re missing out on with the limited preview below:

The Green Events and Innovations Conference (GEI17) has unveiled its full agenda, featuring speakers such as Moby, Dale Vince OBE, Declan McKenna and award-winning musician and activist Madame Gandhi.

The leading conference for event sustainability is organised by A Greener Future (AGF) in partnership with the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) and takes place on Tuesday 25 February 2025 at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel.

It has been announced that the highly anticipated EarthPercent Hour will include a keynote conversation between the foundation’s CEO Cathy Runciman and renowned artists Moby and Declan McKenna.

Another headline session Act 1.5 and Beyond, focuses on the groundbreaking work of Massive Attack and their collaborators, following their huge proof-of-concept show in Bristol, and UN Accelerator City being awarded to Liverpool in 2024. Hosted by Claire O’Neill (A Greener Future), the session will feature environmentalist Dale Vince (Ecotricity/Forest Green Rovers) and professor of climate and energy policy Carly McLachlan (Tyndall Centre).

Tackling increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather, Events in the New Climate: Damage Limitation will be chaired by Greg Cochrane (journalist and broadcaster). He will be joined by Dr Clair Barnes (World Weather Attribution/Imperial College London), Erik Distler (AEG), Steven Howell (Media Insurance Brokers) and Megan Best (Native Events).

A Greener Tour Round V, which tackles the impact of touring, will be chaired by AGF’s head of a greener tour and Massive Attack tour manager Jamal Chalabi, who will be joined by Richard Burnett (KB Event), Christof Huber (Gadget Entertainment Group AG), and Vanessa Govinden (Offshoot Tours).

Global Perspectives and Common Cause, hosted by Sangeeta Waldron (Serendipity PR), explores the issues we face collectively and individually that create division and intolerance, and how the events sector can use its influence and be an agent for good.

The day rounds up with the International AGF Awards 2025

Food & Drink: Impacts and Emotions addresses the impact of event/tour catering, commercial and emotional resistance to change, and the solutions, chaired by punk legend John Robb (Membranes/Louder Than War), with Dale Vince OBE (Ecotricity/Forest Green Rovers), Adam Hempenstall (Peppermint), Tobias Azizah (Meta/Vegetarian Society) and Bonnie May (Eat to the Beat).

Water & Sanitation: Getting out of the Shit delves deep into the urgent topic of water scarcity and national sewage overflowing into our waterways, with Glastonbury Festival and Boomtown’s head of sanitation Jane Healy.

Also on the agenda is the topic of DEI in sustainability with No Climate Action Without Us – How to make disabled people’s access to live events environmentally sustainable chaired by Suzanne Bull MBE, founder of Attitude is Everything, and The Social Sustainability of EDI in Festivals: Challenge or Opportunity hosted by AEME Chair Adrian Bossey (Falmouth University).

The lineup for the Quick-Fire Innovation Round, in which delegates present their innovative products or services, will be hosted by Abena Fairweather (Legacy Marketplace) and includes presentations by Sounds Right, Mycofilter, Wheelskeep, and A Good Thing with their innovations for a greener live sector.

The day rounds up with the International AGF Awards 2025 sponsored by Skydiamond and hosted by Madame Gandhi and AGF CEO Claire O’Neill. Finalists span 34 events, venues, and innovators from 14 countries.

GEI17 is supported by platinum sponsor Ecotricity, gold sponsor TAIT, and silver sponsor The O2, with EarthPercent as charity partner.

Click here for more info. See the full programme here and speakers here.

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We Love Green (FR), Paradise City (BE), Green Gathering (UK) and Øya Festival (NO) have topped the list of the world’s greenest festivals and events in 2024, according to A Greener Future (AGF).

AGF Certification is the world’s first and most comprehensive standard for sustainability in the live events sector, for festivals and events reducing waste, emissions, and enhancing equality and biodiversity.

Forty festivals and events from 14 countries have achieved the certification for 2024, ranging from ‘outstanding’ and ‘highly commended’ to ‘commended’ and ‘improvers’.

These include Les Escales (FR), Bristol Harbour Festival (UK), Paléo Festival (CH), American Express Presents BST Hyde Park (UK), Telluride (US), Sziget Festival (HU), Rosendal Garden Party (SE), UEC Road European Championships (BE) and D’A Film Festival Barcelona (ES).

To be certified, events undertake a thorough assessment based upon the AGF Framework, including self-assessment, site visits, and post-event evidence and data submitted to AGF assessors for an independent auditors’ report. The AGF Framework includes 11 key themes, including local ecosystems & community, travel, food, energy, water, waste, EDI, and governance.

“These events are opting to be held to account, inviting detailed external scrutiny to ensure they are making the grade”

“Whilst the world is slowly catching up with legislation and better practices, it is great to see the festivals and events going the extra mile beyond what is legally required to protect and enhance biodiversity; reduce emissions and waste; prevent pollution; and enact positive change,” says AGF CEO Claire O’Neill. “These events are opting to be held to account, inviting detailed external scrutiny to ensure they are making the grade.”

Norway’s Øya Festival, which has received the ‘outstanding’ qualification for the 11th time, comments: “We have a mission to diligently deliver one of the most sustainable festival experiences worldwide, employing strategies aimed at minimising the negative effects and maximizing the positive effects of our festival on the environment, the society and economy. To achieve the Outstanding certification for the 11th time is an important and motivating testament to our hardworking and passionate staff and volunteers. We are so proud of this recognition, and we are wholeheartedly committed to continuing this work in the years ahead.”

Festivals and events making the grade in 2024 are:

Greener Festival and Event certifications – ‘Outstanding’
Green Gathering (UK)
Øya Festival (NO)
Paradise City (BE)
We Love Green (FR)

Greener Festival and Event certifications – ‘Highly Commended’
American Express Presents BST Hyde Park (UK)
Cambridge Folk Festival (UK)
Dockyard (NL)
The Stopovers (FR)

Greener Festival and Event certifications – ‘Commended’
Bristol Harbour Festival (UK)
The Sun (NL)
Green Man (UK)
HERNAN CATTANEO WEEKEND X BNP (AR)
Come On, Old Man (NL)
Northside (DK)
Paleo Festival (CH)
Rosendal Garden Party (SE)
Sitges – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia (ES)
Sziget Festival (HU)
Open Air St Gallen (CH)
Uber One presents All Points East (UK)
Waking Life (PT)

Greener Festival and Event certifications – ‘Improvers’
Boomtown (UK)
Brockwell Live (UK)
From A Film Festival Barcelona (ES)
The Festival (DE)
elrow Town Madrid (ES)
elrow Town Marbella (ES)
European Short Pitch (FR)
Godiva Festival (UK)
In-Edit Festival (ES)
Garden of Earthly Delights (ES)
Lambeth Country Show (UK)
Monegros Desert Festival (ES)
Phe festival (ES)
Primavera Sound Barcelona (ES)
Rockygrass and Rocky Mountain (US)
RZM Festival (ES)
Telluride (US)
UEC Road European Championships (BE)
We Out Here (UK)

The International AGF Awards, where certified events across a range of green categories will be crowned, will return on 25 February in London.

The awards take place directly after the Green Events & Innovations (GEI17) conference, held in partnership with the ILMC.

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