Festival Congress In Cardiff

For the second year the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) will stage the Festival Congress in Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre Nov. 5-6.

Besides the usual panels and keynotes the conference program includes 15-minute quick-fire talks themed “Talking Heads“ on a variety of issues such as advertising, police negotiations, PR, getting government involved in festivals and even the parallels between the craft beer and independent festival industries.

Confirmed speakers include Robert Richards (commercial director, Glastonbury), Dave Pichilingi (Liverpool Sound City CEO), Rob da Bank (Bestival), Zac Fox (Kilimanjaro Live), Rob Silver (Lovebox), Andy Smith (Kendal Calling) and Dave Steele (Isle of Wight).

The Festival Congress Awards will be presented Nov. 5 AIF’s 55 member festivals will decide on the winners in each of the eight categories in total. The Festival Congress Awards will be hosted by Ben Challis, general counsel of Glastonbury Festival.

The Festival Congress takes place right before the full return of Swn Festival on Nov. 7-8. The festival for music discovery, which showcases new acts in different venues across Cardiff, took a breather last year when it was staged as a one-day event only.