Bluedot and End Of The Road festivals were among the big winners at last night's Festival Congress Awards at DEPOT in Cardiff.
Hosted by Glastonbury's Ben Challis, the ceremony was organised by the Association Of Independent Festivals and took place on the evening of the first day of Festival Congress.
Bluedot took the New Festival On The Block honour, while End of the Road Festival claimed the Best Smart Marketing prize. Other winners included Brian Eno’s light Installation at Jodrell Bank (Mind Blowing Spectacle), Spring King (Live Act Of The Year) and Deer Shed Festival’s Film Production Big Top (Unique Festival Arena).
In addition, the Multi Agency Safety Testing (MAST) drugs testing piloted at Secret Garden Party and Kendal Calling this year won the newly introduced Act of Independence award, introduced to highlight a moment in the festival season that embodied the spirit of independence.
AIF general manager Paul Reed said: “This was the third Festival Congress Awards and a fantastic celebration of the independent festival sector. Our members had some difficult decisions to make with such a strong shortlist and we’re delighted to acknowledge the creativity and hard work that goes into producing the best festival festivals in the world, bar none."
Nominations were put forward and then voted for by the AIF’s 60 member festivals. The full list of winners was as follows:
New Festival On The Block (no more than three editions)
- Bluedot
Unique Festival Arena
- Deer Shed Festival¹s Film Production Big Top
Live Act Of The Year
- Spring King
Mind-blowing Spectacle
- Brian Eno's light Installation at Bluedot, Jodrell Bank.
Best Smart Marketing Campaign Of The Year
- End Of The Road's line-up announcement video
Festival Journalist Of The Year
- David Hillier (Freelancer for The Guardian, Vice etc..)
Act Of Independence
- MAST drugs testing piloted at UK festivals
Festival Caterer Most Likely To End Up On Instagram
- The Cheese Truck
The Backstage Award
- Artist Liaison at Blissfields
Unsung Hero
- Penny Mellor- Health, safety and welfare expert at festivals
