Christopher Barrett

Isle of Wight Festival MD John Giddings tells AAA about the award-winning festival’s evolution from a one-day loss maker to one of the UK’s best loved festivals.

LIVE chair Steve Lamacq is among those whose contributions have been recognised in the latest New Year’s Honours list, which includes senior figures in the festival indusry. LIVE (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment), the umbrella trade body representing all corners of the UK’s live music industry, appointed broadcaster and DJ Steve Lamacq as its […]

Identity, the creative agency behind the Mayor of London’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, said it delivered its most ambitious show to date, involving ‘world-first’ holographic technology.

To the delight of many in the live events industry, the Labour government has pledged to make good on its pre-election promise to clean up the UK’s secondary ticketing market. The Department for Business & Trade and Department for Culture, Media and Sport have jointly announced the launch of a consultation that they said will […]

AGF (A Greener Future) said 40 festivals and events from 14 countries achieved AGF Certification for sustainability in 2024. Among the events to achieve the certification were the UK’s Cambridge Folk Festival and BST Hyde Park, which were highly commended, while Green Gathering went one stage further to gain outstanding certification. Other evens judged to be outstanding in […]

Ahead of Polygon Live’s groundbreaking summer show series that will see artists such as Jon Hopkins, Tinariwen and Nitin Sawhney deliver outdoor performances using an immersive 360° sound system in London’s Crystal Palace Park, its CEO Nico Elliot tells AAA why he believes the technology is the future for live music. Elliot (pictured) says Polygon […]

A UK Festivals Data Map has been launched featuring the details of more than 850 festivals that took place in England, Wales and Scotland in 2024, where music was a key part of the entertainment. Free to access and publicly available, the resource was commissioned by retiring Association of Festival Organisers general secretary Steve Heap […]

Malaysian-owned YTL has confirmed it will invest £2 billion in the Brabazon Bristol development, which includes a 19,500-capacity arena originally expected to open this year but that now looks unlikely to be completed before 2027. The development in Bristol will include 6,500 homes, three new hotels, more than 3 million sq ft of commercial space […]

Music Venue Trust (MVT), which represents hundreds of UK grassroots music venues (GMVs), has launched its 2024 Annual Report, highlighting the ongoing challenges facing the sector. Among the key findings was a decrease in the number of live music shows last year, down 8.3% since 2023, accompanied by an even steeper decline in ticket revenues which […]

Max Alexander has been appointed CEO of the inaugural South by Southwest (SXSW) London festival due to take place 2-7 June. SXSW said Alexander will be responsible for business and brand strategy, and a key area of responsibility will be to grow the European edition of the festival as it develops into an annual cultural […]