After the festival: 98% of the tents were finally brought home
In the UK, the phenomenon of "tent seas" is not uncommon, and dealing with abandoned tents after the festival is also one of the problems that plagues live event organisers in the UK.
The Association of Independent Music Festivals (AIF) estimates that around 250,000 tents are left on site each year after festivals across the UK, most of which are landfilled. Organisers of more than 60 independent music festivals across the UK have called on retailers such as Argos and Tesco to stop marketing and selling "festival tents" as disposables, which will result in generating nearly 900 tonnes of plastic waste each year.
The AIF Association has also launched a consumer-facing campaign urging festival-goers to "bring their tents home" and "say no to single-use use."
AIF members also include some of the UK's leading music festivals, such as Shambala, Boomtown Fair, Kendal Calling and End Of The Road. Among them, Kendall Calling was nominated for the inaugural UK On-Site Awards for its sustainability activities implemented this year. One notable achievement included encouraging festival goers to take their tents home after the event.
Kendall Calling is one of seven nominees in the green category, the others being: A Greener, AEG Europe, Green Phoenix, Overheated, OVO Hydro and Reading & Leeds Festival x Music.
In recent years, Kendal Calling has significantly stepped up its efforts in the direction of sustainability, as a large number of abandoned tents cast a shadow over another successful music festival in 2019. According to Andy Smith, co-founder of Kendal Calling, "The number of tents left behind by the audience was ridiculous, with an estimated more than 2,000 tents eventually sent to landfill." This is in stark contrast to the beautiful Lother Manor. It is clear that we must unite to solve this dilemma. ”
"So we launched a 'leave nothing but memories' campaign – the results were amazing because the campsite was very clean on Monday afternoons compared to previous years." Smith continues.
According to event organizers, 98% of the tents were brought home after the festival's live event, an unprecedented effect of the festival, indicating an increase in audience awareness and engagement this year, as well as positive feedback on the 'Leave Nothing but Memories, Leave Nothing' campaign.
In addition, Kendal Calling reported zero food waste during the festival. This is because leftover food is either distributed to local food stores, recycled in the form of fertilizer or taken away directly by viewers, or otherwise distributed through food vendors who are part of Kendal Calling's ecological commitment.
This commitment ensures that everyone – including festival goers, food vendors and staff, as well as artists, managers, local authorities – is doing their part to support an event that aims to protect Kendal Calling and provide a great festival environment for fans.
Other highlights of Kendal Calling's sustainability efforts in 2022 include having a dedicated 20-member sustainability team. Weekends accumulate about 8 days to pick up trash at campsites and increase sustainable food purchases.
Smith points out that thank everyone who packs up and leaves only memories behind. This is not only an inspiring feat, but also a great effort and a truly commendable action. Thank you to everyone involved, and just as much to everyone who came here and created an atmosphere of joy and love.
According to relevant sources, the winners of the first British Live Awards will be announced at the awards ceremony in London on December 13.
Source: Pollstar, Kendal Calling Festival website
John Rostron will serve as CEO of AIF UK
On November 1, the Association of Independent Music Festivals (AIF) announced John Rostron as CEO of AIF at its 2022 Annual General Meeting. He will succeed Paul Reed, who will officially begin his term on November 18 after a two-week handover period with Reed.
Rostron is understood to be a former member and vice-chairman of the AIF and has extensive leadership experience in the creative industries. He co-founded the Sŵn Music Festival, one of AIF's members, at Cardiff in 2007 and completed the exit strategy sale in 2018. Rostron is also the founder and current president of the Association of Independent Promoters (AIP), but he decided to resign from his position at AIP to start working at AIF.
In addition, Rostron is a former CEO of the Welsh Music Foundation and co-founder of the Welsh Music Awards. He has held advisory positions with the Welsh Arts Council and Sound Diplomacy, and has worked as Development Manager at From The Fields, which is also a sponsor of UK festivals such as Kendal Calling and Bluedot.
Rostron will lead the organization into its next phase along with recently appointed AIF president Matthew Phillip, CEO of Notting Hill Carnival, with the support of vice-chairman, Nick Morgan, who will continue in that role for several months to ensure continuity.
Rostron said: "It is a great honour for me to take on this position at AIF, and I would like to thank outgoing CEO Reed for all he has done to increase AIF's visibility, value and relevance. ”
As outgoing AIF General Manager and CEO, Reed has had a transformative impact on the organization. Under his leadership, AIF's membership grew from 40 to 95, an increase of more than 137 percent.
Currently, AIF members make up less than half of all music festivals in the UK that can accommodate more than 5,000 people. Since joining in 2013, Reed has overseen the overhaul of AIF's offerings to its members and established standards for festival industry organizations, making it an influential advocate for the independent festival industry.
Rostron goes on to point out that, on the one hand, festivals are facing numerous challenges as they struggle with price issues and growing costs throughout the supply chain. On the other hand, fans themselves face a cost-of-living crisis, coupled with significant concerns about climate, audience welfare, diversity, and equity and inclusion, AIF will have the power and in many ways to make meaningful difference to its member companies.
AIF Chairman Phillip welcomed Rostron and said, "It is a pleasure for Rostron to join AIF. Rostron is a seasoned executive who has held a range of senior positions at many respected institutions and has experience advocating and supporting independent music businesses. Of course, Reed has done an excellent job of increasing AIF's membership and impact, and I am confident that Rostron will help AIF continue to grow forward and lead AIF into the future." ”
In addition, at the annual general meeting on November 1, four new members will rotate to the AIF board of directors. They are: Steven Campbell, Suze Bayliss, Stefan Poelman and Joe Barnett.
The AIF has also confirmed that its annual flagship festival convention event will return to Bristol in February 2023 with new venues for conferences and festival parties. Exact dates will be confirmed soon, and exclusive members and Friends of AIF pre-sales will also open by the end of November.
At press time, the official website shows that the AIF represents the interests of 94 festival members in the UK, with capacities ranging from 500 to 75,999, and AIF members receive more than 1 million fans and provide entertainment each summer.
The AIF revealed that the association already accounts for more than 49% of all music festivals in the UK with an audience size of more than 5,000, and its members include some of the most successful and innovative music festivals held in the UK, such as Boomtown Fair, Shambala, Boardmasters, End of the Road and Bluedot.
The AIF has accumulated more than a decade of annual audience survey data, including data from Carey & Chambers' June 2020 Value of Live Entertainment, which shows that the festival industry generates around £1.76 billion (US$2.03 billion) of global value added for the UK each year, with at least 10% benefiting local businesses and economies. At the same time, the festival industry provides 85,000 jobs.
According to a 2020 report by British Music's Digital Music, more than 5 million people attended the festival in 2019, compared to just 2.7 million this time in 2012.