Festival Congress Awards Winners

The Association of independent Festivals (AIF) last week announced the winners of its inaugural Festival Congress Awards at a sold-out ceremony in Cardiff’s Portland House.

Winners included Catfish and the Bottlemen for Live Act of the Year, 2000Trees for supporter of emerging talent, Festival No.6 for Unique Festival Site and Fire in the Mountain for New Festival on the Block.

AIF Vice Chair John Rostron said: “What a way to kick off the first ever Festival Congress Awards, with some terrific winners and plenty of good fun in the mix. The fact there are winners here who aren’t even a part of the AIF, yet have been nominated and voted for by our membership, demonstrates the great spirit of support for the sector, which runs throughout the AIF. Our festivals love festivals, and there’s a lot of love for these worthy winners.”

The awards were hosted by Ben Challis and featured an introduction by Huw Stephens (BBC Radio 1) and Bethan Elfyn (BBC Radio Wales).

The awards ceremony took place on the first night of the AIF Festival Congress, a two-day conference and celebration of the independent festival industry. The event featured keynote speaker Jude Kelly (Artistic Director of the Southbank) and panelists including Martin Elbourne (Glastonbury), Stuart Galbraith (Kilimanjaro Live) and Alison Wenham (AIM).

To find out more and see the complete list of winners go to AIF’s website.