Broadwick, Coda, APE win at UK Festival Awards 2018
Download, Parklife, Latitude, Sziget, Coda Agency and Broadwick Live were among the winners at last night’s UK Festival Awards in London.
The awards ceremony, the 15th, took place at Troxy in Limehouse yesterday (6 December), with more than 700 industry professionals gathering to celebrate excellence in the UK festival business.
Broadwick Live, which is behind festivals including Snowbombing, Field Day, Standon Calling and Boardmasters, was arguably the night’s biggest winner, taking home the award for best promoter, with its events Festival №6 and Kendal Calling also taking home gongs for best hospitality and marketing campaign of the year, respectively.
AEG’s All Points East won best line-up in its first year, while Parklife in Manchester was named best metropolitan festival and Hungary’s Sziget best overseas festival.
Late Tramlines festival boss Sarah Nulty, who died in July, was honoured posthumously with the outstanding contribution to festivals award.
A full list of winners is below:
The innovation award
Shambala
Best hospitality
Festival №6
Best concession
Cheezy Vinyl Bar
Marketing campaign of the year
Kendal Calling
Best festival production
Elrow Town London
Agency of the year
Coda Agency
The brand activation award
Old Mout Cider Kiwi Camp
Line-up of the year
All Points East
Best non-music festival
The National Festival of Making
Best festival for emerging talent
Live at Leeds
Promoter of the year
Broadwick Live
Best family festival
Latitude
The greener festival award
Wood Festival
The grassroots festival award
Barn on the Farm
Best metropolitan festival
Parklife
Best new festival
Timber Festival
Best overseas festival
Sziget
Best small festival
ArcTanGent
Best medium-sized festival
2000trees
Best major festival
Download
The outstanding contribution to festivals award
Sarah Nulty
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Secret Garden Party founder scoops award
Secret Garden Party founder Freddie Fellowes admitted he was “humbled” to be presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Festivals at the UK Festival Awards at east London’s Troxy last night.
Award directors’ judged that he “held a pivotal role in the formation of the now thriving boutique festival scene”.
Fellowes said: “I feel very humbled by this, and to tell the honest truth, this has been not only an honour and a privilege but also an utter blast to have been a part of. Every year so many people gave so much to make this party and in return got so much back from it. It was beautiful. I’m glad for all of those people that it’s been recognised.”
“This has been not only and honour but also an utter blast.”
A spokesperson for the awards said: “Across its illustrious 15-year tenure, the Secret Garden Party consistently set the creative benchmark for UK festivals – shifting the focus away from big name headliners in order to cultivate an extraordinarily immersive and participatory atmosphere through fantastical set design and meticulous attention to detail. It facilitated a grant system to encourage upcoming artists and acted as a springboard to a whole host of creative people – musicians, installation artists, performers, chefs, technicians – who have gone on to forge successful careers around the world.
“In addition to pioneering in the creative side of festival organisation, Fellowes has not been afraid to tackle current issues head on. He has been widely commended for being one of the first organisers to sanction MAST drug-testing facilities at a festival, a practice that has since been rolled out across many other festivals and events in the UK. And, with his wife Joanna he has been very vocal about promoter duty of care concerning the issue of sexual assaults at live music events. He encouraged AIF to set up the sexual safety charter for events.”
Latitude (cap. 39,999) scooped Best Major Festival at the ceremony, hosted by comedian Rufus Hound. Best Medium Festival went to End of the Road (14,000), headlined this year by Father John Misty, Jesus and Mary Chain and Mac Demarco; while Lincolnshire’s Lost Village Festival (5,000) won Best Small Festival.
TRNSMT Festival (50,000), promoted by DF Concerts on Glasgow Green, picked up Best New Festival, and Camp Bestival won Best Family Festival. CODA won Agency of the Year, while SJM Concerts picked up Promoter of the Year.
The UK Festival Awards are decided by a combination of public vote and industry judges. Previously held at the Roundhouse, it moved to the Troxy for the first time this year. The UK Festival Conference, usually held on the same day as the awards, was discontinued.
The full list of winners is:
Best Major Festival
In association with Ticketmaster
Latitude Festival
Best Medium-Sized Festival
In association with Peppermint Bars
End of the Road
Best Small Festival
Lost Village
Best New Festival
In association with Skiddle
TRNSMT Festival
Best Metropolitan Festival
Slam Dunk Festival
Best Family Festival
Camp Bestival
Best Non-Music Festival
Bournemouth 7s
Promoter of the Year
In association with Imaginators
SJM Concerts
Agency of the Year
Coda Agency
The Brand Activation Award
In association with CGA
The JägerHaus
The Grass Roots Festival Award
2000trees
Best Overseas Festival
Outlook Festival
Best Festival for Emerging Talent
In association with Skiddle
Dot to Dot Festival
Line-Up of the Year
In association with Tuned In Travel
Liverpool Music Week
Best Festival Production
In association with PRG XL Video
Lost Village
Marketing Campaign of the Year
Kendal Calling with Tour.Media
The Innovation Award
In association with Transition Video
The Loop
Concession of the Year
Piecaramba!
Best Hospitality
In association with Pernod Ricard
Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park
The Outstanding Contribution to Festivals Award
Freddie Fellowes
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Larmer Tree Festival on hiatus in 2017
Larmer Tree Festival will take a year off in 2017 to “fully refresh both creatively and personally”, founder James Shepard has announced.
The independent UK festival, whose last event, from 13 to 17 July, was headlined by Tom Odell, The Stranglers, Calexico, Jamie Cullum and Caro Emerald, will return in its original two-day format next summer (20–22 July).
In a statement, Shepard, a co-director with Julia Safe and Coda agent Rob Challice, thanks the festival’s “many audience members for their constant support of Larmer Tree over the past 26 years and the endless enthusiasm and hard work of everyone involved so far.
“There’s no doubt that it’s the passion and care of such a fantastic team that makes Larmer Tree Festival the truly unique event that it is, and will continue to be.”
Larmer Tree was founded in 1991, and won the 2008 UK Festival Award for best family festival.
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