Festival Awards Europe Winners 2011

Taking place at Groningen’s De Oosterport in The Netherlands, the third edition of the awards was bigger and better than ever with over 350,000 votes and 200 festivals taking part from 32 different countries. A record breaking edition!

Decided by a combination of public vote and industry juries, Festival Awards Europe is the only event solely dedicated to recognising the contributions and achievements of the event organisers and performing artists that generate billions of Euros for local economies and brighten up the summer for tens of millions of festival-goers each year.

And the winners are;

Best Major European Festival – Sziget Festival (Hungary)
Best Medium-Sized European Festival – Off Festival (Poland)
Best Small European Festival – Haldern Pop (Germany)
Best New European Festival – Extrema Outdoor (Belgium)
Best Indoor Festival – I Love Techno (Belgium)
Best European Festival Line-Up – Rock Werchter (Belgium)
YOUROPE Green ‘N’ Clean Festival Of The Year – Melt! (Germany)
Artist’s Favourite European Festival – Southside / Hurricane (Germany)
Best Newcomer association with Eurosonic Noorderslag – James Blake
Best Headliner – Coldplay
Festival Anthem of the Year –  Coldplay ‘Viva La Vida’
Virtual Festivals Europe presents Promoter Of The Year – FKP Scorpio (Germany)
YOUROPE Lifetime Achievement Award – Michael Eavis, Glastonbury (UK)

Said Fruzsina Szep from Sziget festival after receiving the Best Major Festival award and inviting everyone to join her in a drink of Palinka: “We were very much hoping to win this award and it really means a lot to us because 2012 will be the 20th edition of our festival.”

On receiving his lifetime achievement award Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis said: “42 years ago I started something on my farm towards the end of the flower power era in the 60’s and we had less than a thousand people and now we have 150,000 people registered to buy a ticket for 2013.  Thank you very much to everyone and thanks to all the people who have been involved in our show and thanks to all the people who buy tickets every year. I hope there are a few more years to go yet, another 10 years maybe.”

James Drury, MD of Festival Awards Ltd, which organises the Awards said: “The further growth of the European festival awards and another record-breaking event highlights just how important festivals are to people across the continent. It’s testament to the hard work and passion of everyone involved with festivals that they continue to be so popular. With Glastonbury being the inspiration for so many festivals, I was especially delighted to welcome Michael Eavis to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been seminal in the success of the festival scene in the world.”

Christof Huber, General Secretary YOUROPE commented: “Michael Eavis is an icon in the European festival scene and in my view, Glastonbury is the mother of all European festivals. He is just the right person to get the Livetime Achievement Award at the Festival Awards Europe.’

For more info http://eu.festivalawards.com/
-ENDS –

Notes to Editors:

Contact:
For more info on the awards, last years winners, photos, interviews contact Nikki Wright-McNeill at Global Publicity. nikki@46.32.240.39 / +44 (0) 7957 434517
Top 5 Festivals in each category;

BEST MAJOR FESTIVAL
Hurricane Festival (Germany)
Roskilde Festival (Denmark)
Sziget (Hungary)
Tomorrowland (Belgium)
Wacken Open Air (Germany)
Winner: Sziget (Hungary)

BEST MEDIUM-SIZED FESTIVAL in association with Megaforce
Berlin Festival (Germany)
Melt! Festival (Germany)
Off Festival (Poland)
Pohoda Festival (Slovakia)
Rock for People (Czech Republic)
Winner: Off Festival (Poland)

BEST SMALL FESTIVAL
Appletree Garden (Germany)
Blues in Hell (Norway)
Extrema Outdoor (Belgium)
Haldern Pop (Germany)
Springtime Festival (Belgium)
Winner: Haldern Pop (Germany)
BEST NEW FESTIVAL
Extrema Outdoor (Belgium)
Festival Hongerige Wolf (Netherlands)
Luna Festa (Belgium)
The Green Village (Ireland)
Waves Vienna (Germany)
Winner: Extrema Outdoor (Belgium)

BEST INDOOR FESTIVAL
Blues in Hell (Norway)
I Love Techno (Belgium)
Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland)
Reeperbahn Festival (Germany)
Springfestival (Belgium)
Winner: I Love Techno (Belgium)

ANTHEM OF THE YEAR
Aloe Black – I Need a Dollar
Arcade Fire – Wake Up
Coldplay – Viva La Vida
Foo Fighters – Rope
Foster The People – Pumped up Kicks
Winner: Coldplay – Viva La Vida

HEADLINER OF THE YEAR
Arctic Monkeys
Chemical Brothers
Coldplay
Foo Fighters
Queens of the Stone Age
Winner: Coldplay

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR in association with Eurosonic Noorderslag
Anna Calvi
James Blake
Magnetic Man
Selah Sue
The Vaccines
Winner: James Blake

BEST EUROPEAN FESTIVAL LINE-UP
Heineken Opener Festival (Poland)
Hurricane / Southside (Germany)
Oya Festivalen (Norway)
Rock am Ring  (Germany)
Rock Werchter (Belgium)
Winner: Rock Werchter (Belgium)

YOUROPE GREEN ’N’ CLEAN AWARD
Melt! (Germany)
Oya Festivalen (Norway)
Shambala (UK)
SOS 4.8 (Spain)
Winner: Melt! (Germany)

ARTISTS’ FAVOURITE FESTIVAL
End of the Road Festival (UK)
Paléo Festival Nyon (Switzerland)
Southside / Hurricane (Germany)
Sziget Festival (Hungary)
T in the Park (Scotland)
Winner: Southside / Hurricane (Germany)