FESTIVAL AWARDS EUROPE 2011 - NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN

Following its successful second edition in January, the FESTIVAL AWARDS EUROPE presented in association with YOUROPE and Eurosonic Noorderslag will return in the New Year with the gala award show which will open Eurosonic Noorderslag in style on Wednesday 11th January 2012 at De Oosterpoort in Groningen.

Last years awards featured just under 200 festivals from 32 different countries, with over 350,000 votes - a real demonstration of the fans' passion for festivals.

Nominations for this year are now open and will run from 4th October to 19th October during which time festivals can put themselves forward for the using the simple online form at eu.festivalawards.com/apply

Decided by a combination of public vote and industry juries, these Awards are the only pan-European body solely dedicated to recognising the contributions and achievements of the event organisers and performing artists that generate billions of Euros for local economies and brighten up the summer for tens of millions of festival-goers each year.

Adding an extra twist to this year’s event, festivals that won a category last year will not be eligible for the same award, giving more festivals the opportunity to win and benefit from the awards. Categories this year include: Best Major European Festival, Best Medium-Sized European Festival, Best Small European Festival, Best New European Festival, Best Indoor Festival, Best European Festival Line-Up *, YOUROPE Green ‘N’ Clean Festival Of The Year, Artist’s Favourite European Festival *, Best Newcomer, Best Headliner, Festival Anthem of the Year, Promoter Of The Year, Yourope Lifetime Achievement Award *

Awards marked * are judged by a panel of industry experts and journalists.

Public voting in this year’s Awards will commence on 24th October and close on 2nd December. More information to follow.

Says Festival Awards Managing Director James Drury “The European Festival Awards is a celebration of the incredibly diverse festival industry across the continent, and I’m looking forward to welcoming events from every country to take part. Last year’s incredible number of voters shows just how much passion fans have for these events and artists and it’s time for them to have their say on their favourites again.”

List of last year’s winners;

Best Major European Festival:Heineken Open'er - Poland
Best Medium-Sized European Festival: Electric Picnic Music & Arts Festival - Ireland
Best Small European Festival: 5 Tauron Nowa Muzyka Festival - Poland
Best New European Festival: Temple House Festival - Ireland
Best Indoor Festival: Rolling Stone Weekender - Germany
Best European Festival Line-Up: Oxegen - Ireland
Best Newcomer: Florence and the Machine
Best Headliner: Muse Festival Anthem of the Year: Muse - Uprising
YOUROPE Green ‘N’ Clean Festival Of The Year: Boom Festival – Portugal
Artist’s Favourite European Festival: Melt! - Germany
Promoter Of The Year in association with Virtual Festivals Europe: Kilimanjaro/K2
YOUROPE Lifetime Achievement Award: Leif Skov Of The Year