AIF Romps Home at Festival Awards

19th November 2010, London: - last night saw the Association of Independent Festivals romp home with a clutch of awards at the 7th Annual Festival Awards at London’s Indigo2, with successes in the following categories:Best Major Festival - BestivalBest Medium-Sized Festival - Green Man Festival Best Small Festival - Kendal Calling Best Dance Event - Creamfields Best Family Festival - Camp BestivalWell known as a crucial sector, with great quality, depth and variety, there can be no greater validation of success of the UK independent festivals.AIF board member Jim King was also awarded for his work on Rockness, picking up Line Up Of The Year.Ben Turner, co-founder of AIF states: “It was an incredible night for the independent festival sector, and a victory for the great British festival. It’s rewarding to see events like Green Man and Kendal Calling finally getting the respect they deserve and to see Bestival beat the biggest and most established festivals in the world – never mind the UK – is a testament to the passion festivalgoers have for the efforts, energy and love put in by independent festival promoters to make their events unique. As for Creamfields, it is without doubt the world leader in global dance music. The original and still by far the best.”Fiona Stewart, Managing Director of Green Man Festival states: “We are delighted to win. There are a lot of clever and creative people who work very hard to make Green Man happen and this award is a testament to them. But most importantly, its thanks to the amazing people who come to Green Man every year and who voted for us.”About AIFThe Association of Independent Festivals is a not for profit body set up in 2008 to represent independent music festivals in the UK and Ireland.Conceived by Bestival promoter Rob da Bank and Graphite’s Ben Turner, the association’s founder members included Bestival, Cornbury Festival, Creamfields, Evolution Festival, Field Day/Underage, Secret Garden Party, Summer Sundae Weekender and WOMAD.With 25 members ranging from Bromley’s Leefest to the 55,000 capacity Bestival in the Isle of Wight, AIF enables the promoters of some of the UK & Ireland’s most innovative and successful festivals to speak with one voice when addressing the wider music business and government.AIF aims to establish best practice for festivals in a variety of areas such as security, the environment and beyond, providing a knowledge base for festival promoters, as well as creating collective purchasing and marketing opportunities for its members.AIF operates as an autonomous division of the Association of Independent Music.www.aiforg.com