Fest Awards Publish Shortlists

The shortlists are determined by public vote, which this year totaled more than 700,000, 25 percent up on last year. “The response to this year’s awards, not only from fans, but also from more festivals applying to take part than ever before, has been exceptional,” said UK Festival Awards founder Steve Jenner.

Even so, the shortlists read more like longlists, with about a dozen fests still left in each category.

Best major festival, the blue ribbon of any festival awards, is between (in alphabetical order) Bestival, British Summer Time in Hyde Park, Creamfields, Download, Glastonbury, Global Gathering, Isle of Wight, Reading & Leeds, Sonisphere, T in the Park, V Festival, and Wireless.

All the shortlists can be viewed at festivalawards.com. The UK Festival Conference takes place during the day at the same venue.