Festival Congress Awards Announced

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has announced the winners of the 2015 Festival Congress Awards.

Hosted by Glastonbury’s Ben Challis, the ceremony took place on the first day of the Congress, 5th November at The Great Hall, Cardiff University.

Winners included Slaves (‘Live Act of the Year’); Camp Wildfire (‘New Festival on the Block’); Boomtown Fair (‘Mind Blowing Spectacle’ and ‘Smart Marketing Campaign’), Blissfields (‘Unique Festival Arena’) and Chris Tofu of Continental Drifts (‘Unsung Hero’, pictured with AIF co-founder Rob da Bank).

AIF General Manager Paul Reed said: “The event was sold out for a second year running and it was fantastic to acknowledge and celebrate the creative minds behind the independent festival sector as it goes from strength to strength”.

Reed continued: “Our members vote for the awards and the fact that we have winners who are yet to join AIF speaks volumes about the festival community. It was a strong shortlist, so congratulations to all of the winners and see you next year in Cardiff”.

Nominations were put forward and then voted for by the AIF’s 55 member festivals, to see the complete list of nominations and winners, go here.

Also at the congress, the AIF launched the ‘Fair Play for Festivals’ agreement between its members and emerging artists in partnership with the Musicians’ Union and ‘Access Starts Online’, a new online campaign launched with Attitude is Everything aimed at improving access information for deaf and disabled fans on festival websites.