Annie Blinkhorn
The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) is seeking bids for the organising and hosting of its annual two-day Festival Congress for the next three years.
The conference and awards, celebrating all things small and independent festival, has taken place each year in Cardiff, Wales, as it does for 2017, but its 2018 location is now up for grabs.
The invitation to tender is now live. The AIF said: “A successful bidding council or location will be culturally rich, offering strong support with the marketing and delivery of the event and will facilitate a new dynamic for the Festival Congress to evolve over the next three years.”
Key to a successful tender are “funding and financial offer, culture, event support, adaptability and longevity of AIF Agreement.”
Paul Reed, told Access: “Following three, coming up to four, wonderful years in Cardiff, AIF are delighted to issue this invitation to tender for Festival Congress. It was always part of the plan for the Congress to be a moveable feast and reflect the national demographic of our 65 members.
“There are lots of active conversations with different cities and the only location that we feel wouldn’t work is London as it’s difficult to rise above the white noise of other industry conferences, plus delegates get a more fulfilling experience by committing to a couple of days out of town. It’s an exciting stage in the event’s development and we look forward to announcing the results of the tender at Festival Congress this year.”
Festival Congress is the AIF’s flagship networking event with over 400 industry delegates from events including Glastonbury, Bestival, Boomtown Fair, Kendal Calling, Shambala, Liverpool Sound City and more.