AIF

The Association of Independent Festivals has reached 100 members.

This year will see Festival Congress move to Bristol Beacon – a larger venue following 2022’s sell-out event.

The appointment was announced today during AIF’s 2022 AGM, with Rostron officially beginning his tenure on November 18 following a two-week handover period with current CEO Paul Reed.

"Congratulations to Michelle Donelan MP on her appointment as Secretary of State at DCMS. It remains a uniquely challenging time for festivals as we look to the 2023 season."

Paul Reed will step down as CEO of The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) in November, after nine years at the trade body.

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has appointed Notting Hill Carnival CEO Matthew Phillip as its new Chair. Phillip is the CEO of Carnival Village Trust, London's leading Carnival development agency, which is dedicated to supporting and delivering an integrated programme of Carnival arts.

103 UK festivals have committed to The Association of Independent Festivals’ (AIF) Safer Spaces At Festivals campaign, which is aimed at tackling sexual violence at festivals and has been relaunched today to address the issue in 2022 and beyond.

“We are disappointed that the Chancellor has not responded to our repeated calls to grant an extension to the 12.5% VAT rate on festival tickets beyond the end of March."

Jim Mawdsley is to step down as Chair of The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) in May 2022, after seven years in the role.

A live entertainment supply chain crisis, workforce shortages, and the effects of Brexit could create a ‘perfect storm’ as the 2022 festival season approaches.

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has revealed the full programme for its Festival Congress 2022, taking place in Bristol on February 15.

Musician Brix Smith will be interviewed in the headline session at AIF’s 2022 Festival Congress, which will take place at Bristol’s M Shed Museum on February 15.

The Association of Independent Festivals announced six new additions to its Board of Directors at its 2021 AGM today, as well as confirming membership growth of 34% year-on-year and announcing the return of its flagship Festival Congress event in February 2022.

“AIF has campaigned for a Government-backed insurance scheme for festivals for over a year, from raising it as a headline issue with the DCMS Select Committee to working with DCMS colleagues and presenting detailed evidence and data to support the case."

"We welcome the Health Secretary’s confirmation of progressing to Step 4 of the lockdown roadmap. Government has repeatedly stated that once we are at this stage, it will examine if insurance is still an issue for events and intervene if necessary. We are now one week away from this date and the sector needs a long overdue resolution to this problem."

“We welcome the Prime Minister’s statement and that large events including festivals are expected to be able take place from July 19. It is positive for organisers, fans and artists alike that there will be some activity this year, though clearly it is too late for the estimated 56% of UK festivals that have already been forced to cancel and are still awaiting details of emergency funding and the next round of the Culture Recovery Fund."

“We welcome the Government finally publishing the findings of the ERP Phase 1 pilot events. Although wide ranging, in many respects the report tells us what we already know: Most significantly, that there were no substantial outbreaks at these events, with 28 cases across nine events and 58,000 attendees..."

The unfortunate milestone has been reached following the delay of Step 4 of the UK Government’s lockdown roadmap and its failure to intervene on insurance for festival businesses, coupled with the uncertainty around the publication of the Events Research Programme (ERP) pilot results and subsequent guidance for events this summer.

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) is calling for urgent intervention from Government for festivals following the announcement of a four-week delay to Step 4 of the lockdown roadmap today. Without Government action, most of the UK’s remaining 2021 festivals will be cancelled.

“AIF welcomes the findings of the committee and appreciates its efforts over the past few months. We are pleased that MPs have again echoed our repeated calls for Government-backed insurance for festivals."

Over a quarter of UK festivals over 5,000 capacity have been cancelled due to Government inaction on insurance. The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) is issuing a Red Alert warning to Government, projecting that up to 76% of the remaining festivals (i.e. those that are scheduled to take place in July and August) could quickly cancel if immediate action is not taken.

“Governments across the rest of Europe have already acted to support festivals, sharing the risk with organisers so that they may reopen safely. If this Government doesn’t intervene in some way on insurance and back its own roadmap, I’m afraid that, despite the rhetoric, it won’t be a great British summer for events - it will be an extremely selective one despite the clear demand and huge amount of customer confidence that the roadmap has injected.”

The document builds upon planning considerations published last year on the Purple Guide website and is again produced by leading practitioners from the festival industry, who continue to work in collaboration with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and Public Health England (PHE) to determine how music festivals could safely reopen with Covid-19 mitigation measures in place.

70% of AIF members who applied for a grant in the second round of the Government's Culture Recovery Fund have been offered funding. This amounts to over £5.5m in this round with an average grant of almost £126,000.

“We warmly welcome the extension to the reduced VAT rate on tickets, which will really help festivals during the 2021 sales cycle. For many AIF members, this is the first period in which they are selling tickets since the outset of the pandemic..."

Two days before the 2021 budget, the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) warns the Chancellor: this is the final countdown for many festival organisers, who will need to decide whether to commit significant costs by the end of the month if they are to stage events this year.

"We are rapidly approaching the decision cut off point for the vast majority of festivals at the end of March. If a complete picture is not given by this time, it will be too late for many to stage events later in the year."

CEO Paul Reed stressed that festivals are rapidly approaching the point where a concrete decision on whether they can go ahead with plans for 2021 will have to be made. With that being the case, urgent action is needed in the above areas.

Newly published festival guidance around Covid-19 will assist festival organisers, safety advisory group members, local directors of public health and other industry parties in assessing risk levels and planning festivals based on a flexible, pragmatic and realistic approach to the current pandemic.

“We warmly welcome this intervention from Government and the results of the first round of the Culture Recovery Fund."

"While the extension to the VAT cut is welcome, these measures are not even a band aid for a sector that remains severely wounded."

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) welcomes the Government’s confirmation that UK festivals will share in the recently announced £1.57 billion cultural emergency fund.

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) calls for urgent clarity on the eligibility of the UK’s festival sector for the Government’s recently announced financial support package for the arts.

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has warned that the UK could face an independent festival wasteland in 2021 and beyond if decisive Government action is not taken to support the sector.

The Association of Independent Festivals has partnered with Music Support – a peer-led music industry charity that provides confidential mental health and addiction services – to offer its members discounted training in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA).

The Association of Independent Festivals has today launched an updated festival ownership map at its annual Festival Congress event in Sheffield.

Initial speakers and details have been revealed for the 2019 edition of the Association of Independent Festivals’ flagship Festival Congress.

In May 2017, the Association of Independent Festivals launched its Safer Spaces campaign.

Organisers of more than 60 independent festivals across the UK have issued a call to retailers such as Argos and Tesco to stop marketing and selling ‘festival tents’ as single-use items, which result in almost 900 tonnes of plastic waste every year.

The Association of Independent Festivals added three new Board members at its 2019 AGM today.

RAW Bottles has become the exclusive reusable bottle supplier to the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF).

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has announced the winners of the Independent Festival Awards 2018 at a packed-out event in Sheffield.

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) publishes a special 10-year report today confirming that its members contributed an estimated £1 billion in revenue to the UK economy in the three-year period between 2014 and 2017.

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has announced further details for its flagship Festival Congress event in Sheffield on 6th and 7th November, featuring a two-day conference and the Independent Festival Awards.

The Association of Independent Festivals has published a festival ownership map that highlights the continued dominance of a single major promoter in the sector, with Live Nation now controlling over a quarter of UK festivals over 5,000 capacity.

AIF’s annual flagship Festival Congress will take place in Sheffield on November 6 and 7 this year. The move to Sheffield follows four consecutive sold-out years in Cardiff.

The Association of Independent Festivals is celebrating a hard-fought victory for its members today, after PRS for Music announced a new Tariff LP today with changes that will see reduced rates for festivals.

Organisers of more than 60 independent festival across the UK have committed to banning the use of plastic straws on-site this season as a minimum first step - and eliminating all single-use plastic at their events by 2021.

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) will break away from its parent company AIM and operate as a separate company in April this year.