As the summer festival season draws to a close, the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), is working with the British Council to present a masterclass on how to run a successful festival at London’s Southbank Centre on September 8.
‘Festival Visionaries’ will feature guest speakers from events such as Bestival, Green Man and Womad and a series of panels and workshops will explore topics such as establishing an identity, sponsorship and best practice.
Despite 31 cancellations of festivals this year, the AIF has reported that three of its members sold-out in record time including Creamfields, Kendal Calling and End of the Road. A further four sold-out to capacity, including Bestival and none of the 33 member festivals associated with the AIF cancelled this year. AIF co-founder Luke Turner attributed the success of the independent events to the diversity of activity on offer such as interesting food, comedy and other attractions away from the main stages, telling Music Week: “People want line-ups that are not just 200 bands and DJs and we deliver a much broader experience. As artist fees rise there are other art forms that are as rewarding to consumers”.
Alison Wenham, Chief Executive and Chairman of AIM will introduce the event at the Southbank Centre.
The AIF is a trade association formed to represent the interests of independent UK festivals and its member events include the above festivals alongside the Eden Sessions, Field Day, Underage and Evolution.
The organisation has just launched a new ‘sliding scale’ membership fee that will enable small start-ups to receive basic support from its group for as little as £250 a year and they also operate an ethical ticket exchange service called the Ticket Trust to help fans source tickets to sold-out events without using secondary ticketing sites.
To find out more, go to their website.
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