Vince Powers On

Former Mean Fiddler chief Vince Power’s passion for festivals hasn’t been diminished by poor attendance at the two festivals he ran this year.

“I’m looking at having more festivals,” he told Pollstar, indicating that his strategy is more likely to be acquiring existing festivals than starting new ones.

This year the UK’s 30,000-capacity Hop Farm Festival, which he started in 2008, fell short of selling out. Benicassim – the Spanish festival he owns in cahoots with fellow Irish promoter Denis Desmond – saw its crowd tumble from 50,000 to just more than 30,000.

Power believes Benicassim, which has just lost its Heineken sponsorship, will bounce back in 2011. The dates have already been set for July 14-17.

Power made £12.9 million when Mean Fiddler Music Group was sold to LN-Gaiety for £37.9 million in 2005.