EUROPEAN FESTIVAL AWARDS

Yourope, the European Festival Association has joined forces with festivals portal Virtual Festivals Europe to create the first ever awards to celebrate the ever-growing strength and diversity of the pan-European music festival marketplace and recognise those individuals and organisations responsible for brightening up the lives of millions each summer.

Building on the success of the UK Festival Awards, pioneered and run by Virtual Festivals since 2004, the European Festival Awards will culminate in a live ceremony taking place at the Grand Theatre as part of EuroSonic Noorderslag in Groningen, Netherlands, on Wednesday January 13th, 2010.

Similar to the established UK format, the award categories will include a mixture of festival-related themes such as “Best Major/ Medium and Small European Festival”, “Best Line-Up”, “Best New Festival” as well as artist ones like “Festival Anthem of The Year” and “Best Newcomer”. There will also be awards for the “Artists’ Favourite Festival”, “Promoter of the Year” and a “Lifetime Achievement Award”. Both the shortlists and final winners will be decided by a combination of industry panels (including experts from the media, booking agents and artists) and a public vote on the Virtual Festivals Europe website (eu.virtualfestivals.com) in the autumn. The full list of categories will be announced in due course.

Participation in the European Festival Awards will be eligible (at no cost) to every festival listed on the Virtual Festivals Europe website. Application details will be announced shortly.

Tickets to the European Festival Awards, which will include a drinks reception, buffet dinner, live performances and an aftershow party will be exclusively available, on a strict first-come-first-served basis, to EuroSonic Noorderslag delegates.

To register for EuroSonic Noorderslag 2010 log onto the website www.eurosonicnooderslag.nl

YOUROPE Chairman Christof Huber commented: “It’s great to finally organise a night to celebrate the European Festivals together with our key partners Virtual Festivals Europe and Noorderslag EuroSonic!  I am sure it could have a great impact on our work!”

Virtual Festivals Director Steve Jenner added: “We are very excited to be involved in the creation of this unique and special event that seeks to bring together the incredible, vibrant and diverse festival community of Europe across international borders, to be celebrated as one. There are more than 3000 amazing music festivals in mainland Europe. It’s about time the people who make them so special are recognised on a continental level for all their hard work and dedication and we can’t wait until EuroSonic Noorderslag to do just that!”

EuroSonic Noorderslag Creative Director Peter Smidt concluded: “These awards make a lot of sense. We are very happy and proud to welcome the European festival Awards at the EuroSonic Noorderslag 2010 edition. With so many festivals and the ETEP program already present at our conference it seems like the logical place and it feels like a homecoming. We have a great working relationship with Yourope. We look forward to develop the same with Virtual Festivals and make the European Festival Awards a big success!”