All the Big Winners At The European Festival Awards, Revealed

Article by: Louisa Newton

Thu January 14, 2016 | 00:00 AM


Last night saw the 7th annual edition of the European Festival Awards announcing the 2015 crème de la crème, or hangover burger and chips, of music festivals at a gala show in Groningen, The Netherlands. Hosted in association with Yourope (the European Festival Association) and marking the start of the four-day Eurosonic Noorderslag event, the European Festival Awards returned to honor the success of Europe’s eccentric music festival industry and all the slightly more eccentric people involved.

The awards are the only European body exclusively dedicated to recognizing the event organizers and artists that generate billions of Euros (or Pounds) for local economies, making the European Festival Awards one hell of a salute to the festival industry and the ringing ears that we all know a little too well.

Founded in the UK, this year saw an impressive 800,000 votes from festival-goers hailing from over 50 different EU countries, with Director Steve Jenner commenting: “2015 has been a buoyant year for Europe’s festival market, evidenced by the raft of successful and diverse new events entering the market this year, ranging from the small and intimate Amsterdam Woods to the huge and epic Lollapalooza Berlin. This year’s voting shows that passion for festivals has never been greater and the shortlists portray an exceptionally colourful, creative and vibrant festival landscape that any European should be proud of.”

Despite UK festivals being notorious for soggy tents, muddy feet and grass stains, Brit artists dominated the celebrations with Hozier and The Prodigy taking home Newcomer of the Year and Best Headliner. Emma Banks of London based Creative Artists Agency, was awarded Agent of the Year, and Chris Kemp also received the Excellence and Passion Awards for the second time. Although the true winners were Germany, who nabbed Best New Festival and Best Small Festival, proving that size doesn’t always matter when it comes to having a good time.

And the European Festival anthem of the year? Major Lazer's "Lean On"… the video for which has just clocked over 1 billion views on YouTube. A worthy winner then.

Here is the full list of results:

Best Major Festival
In association with Charge Candy
Untold Festival, RO

Best Medium-Sized Festival
In association with Eventbrite
Telekom Volt Festival, HU

Best Small Festival
Happiness Festival, DE

Best New Festival
Lollapalooza Berlin, DE

Best Indoor Festival
Les Transardentes, BE

Festival Anthem of the Year
Major Lazer – Lean On

Newcomer of the Year
In association with Eurosonic Noorderslag
Hozier, UK

Best Headliner
The Prodigy, UK

Best Line Up
In association with IFF
Sziget, UK

Artists' Favourite Festival
Rock Werchter , BE

Promoter of the Year
In association with Bucks New University
Horstmann Unternehmensgruppe, DE

Agent of the Year
Emma Banks (CAA), UK

Yes Group H&S Innovation Award
Das Fest

Excellence and Passion Award
Chris Kemp, UK

Lifetime Achievement Award
In association with PlayPass / PayPal
Jean-Louis Brossard and Beatrice Mace, FR