The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has bolstered its Safer Spaces Charter through new partnerships with UK charities targeting LGBT+ abuse and spiking. AIF’s Safer Spaces campaign, which was originally launched in May 2017, sees festivals commit to a charter of best practice developed with input and guidance from a range of expert charities including …
Events leaders call for judicial review over drug-testing ‘U-turn’
Parklife founder Sacha Lord and the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) have demanded a judicial review in the UK following the Home Office’s decision to ban on-site ‘pop-up’ labs to test drugs at festivals. In a letter to the Home Office, the body that represents more than 1400 venues, clubs and bars, along with entrepreneur …
Long-running Danish festival Langelandsfestival goes bankrupt
Langelandsfestival, one of Denmark’s longest-running festivals, has filed for bankruptcy. The annual event was first launched in 1991 and typically took place over four days in late July on Langeland island, in southern Denmark. Some 35,000 people traditionally attended the festival. In December last year, the festival announced that it would not be happening this …
New Scottish music festival cancelled due to poor ticket sales
Midnight Sun Weekender, a new music festival that was set to take place on the Isle of Lewis, has been cancelled due to a lack of ticket sales. The cancellation was revealed a week out from the event, which was due to take place at Lew’s Castle (pictured) in Stornoway, Scotland from May 25-27. The …
Live Nation launches music-led destination experience company Vibee
Live Nation has launched a new music-led destination experience company, Vibee, which will build trips for music fans to travel across the globe. Vibee has partnerships in place with live event and festival producers such as Insomniac, C3 Presents and Country Nation, as well as other Live Nation festival properties. The company is aiming to …
Manchester introduces tourist tax to develop events and more
Manchester has imposed a tourist tax for guests staying in order to develop and run large events, conferences, festivals and marketing campaigns. The city is the first in the UK to impose the £1 tourist tax, which will be added per night, per room for those staying in hotels, and is part of a new …
NTIA report demonstrates importance of electronic music in the UK
The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has presented its first UK Electronic Music Industry Report, which has demonstrated the economic, community and cultural value of the electronic music industry, and the genre’s interwoven presence in live concerts, events, venues and festivals. Published in collaboration with Audience Strategies, the report showcased how electronic music has had …
Green survey finds events are more concerned about overall carbon footprint
Vision: 2025’s annual Industry Green Survey has found that local authorities in the UK are more interested in the sustainability efforts of an event, and that festivals and shows are now more concerned about their overall carbon footprint. Despite these concerns however, only 24% of the survey respondents have a net zero strategy in place, …
Xceed secures €2m in latest funding round
Music ticketing platform Xceed has secured €2m (£1.7m/$2m) from its latest funding round. Xceed was launched in Europe by Mattia Franco and Luca Papaleo and is now available in over 15 countries and 125 cities. It provides software for clubs, bars and festivals across the globe. The software enables clients to digitise their online presence …
NSW Government supports local cultural events through major funding
New South Wales (NSW) Government has partnered with 15 councils to provide a boost for major cultural events and festivals across the region. Some of the councils include Liverpool City Council, Blacktown City Council, Georges River Council, Wollongong City Council, the City of Canterbury Bankstown, Inner West Council and City of Newcastle. Liverpool City Council …