With the 15th edition of the European Festival Awards set to take place on January 14th in Groningen, The Netherlands the European Festival Awards is proud to announce that this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Ewald Tatar.
He is one of the most respected and influential figures in the Austrian Music industry with a career that started as DJ and simply a fan of music. He has been involved in running some of Austria’s biggest and most legendary festivals like Nova Rock, FM4 Frequency, Forestglade, Clam Rock, Lovely Days or Butterfly Dance! and has brought the biggest names in music to the biggest stadiums and stages in Austria. Ewald Tatar has been responsible for some of the most important headline shows all over Austria by the likes of the Rolling Stones, Prince, Lady Gaga, Bon Jovi, Robbie Williams, Ed Sheeran, Selena Gomez, Guns N’ Roses, Miley Cyrus or Imagine Dragons. Ewald Tatar was also a key figure in bringing Ed Sheeran to Eastern Europe or The Rolling Stones to Warsaw.
Even more impressive than his resume in the music industry is his charitable work. Together with his team and the charity organisation Volkshilfe he organized Voices for Refugees in 2015, a free concert in solidarity with refugees that was attended by 100’000 visitors. In 2022, a sold-out stadium show at Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna called We Stand With Ukraine generated record high donations for war-torn Ukraine. Ewald Tatar and his team are setting the standards for music, entertainment and charity work in Austria, which was also honoured with the induction into the Austrian Hall of Fame.
Congratulations to Ewald Tatar and thank you for dedicating your professional life and beyond to the Austrian music industry, bringing people together and the music industry in general!
The award show is rapidly approaching. In a month, the European festival scene will be gathering at De Oosterpoort in Groningen to celebrate and recognise the festival season 2025. All other winners in 13 categories are to be unveiled on January 14th, 2025.
During the award show, we’ll welcome three up and coming artists on stage. The first one is Dutch indie folk duo Sarah Julia. Their songs transform love, loss, and longing into something quietly luminous. They are also nominated for the Music Moves Europe Awards on January 15th. Secondly, Irish singer/songwriter Dove Ellis will perform at the European Festival Awards. His writing goes from soft acoustic ballads to hammering bass lines to visceral, ambient soundscapes – all kept tight and cohesive behind his high tenor croon. Finally, Carpetman from Ukraine will present his combination of electronic beats, ambient and echoing vocals. The mysterious young singer, hidden behind the mask of a carpet has also been nominated for the Music Moves Europe Awards, the EU prize for emerging European artists.
Tickets for the Award Ceremony, set to take place on January 14th, 2026 at De Oosterpoort in Groningen, The Netherlands are on sale. There are two different options:
PREMIUM TICKETS (€80):
8.15pm – 8.30pm: Welcome Drink
8.30pm – 9.45pm: Sit down dinner with a selected variety of shared dinner plates, incl. drinks
9.45pm – 11.30pm: European Festival Awards ceremony
00.00am – 2.00am: Aftershow Party with DJ Mini (FIN), Location: Tuinfoyer – De Oosterpoort
TRIBUNE TICKETS (€25):
A tribune seat at the Award Ceremony (dinner and drinks excluded)
9.45pm – 11.30pm: European Festival Awards Ceremony
00.00am – 2.00am: Aftershow Party with DJ Mini (FIN), Location: Tuinfoyer – De Oosterpoort
Contact:
Nikki McNeill | Global Publicity
nikki@globalpublicity.co.uk