GRONINGEN (VIP-NEWS) — Europe’s best music festivals, artists and promoters of 2014 were revealed at the 6th annual European Festival Awards, which took place at Groningen’s De Oosterpoort in The Netherlands, crowning the opening night of Eurosonic Noorderslag.
The ceremony also featured some of the hottest new European artists with performances from Danish electro-pop sensation MØ, London-based R&B musician Jack Garratt and Norwegian singer-songwriter Aurora Asknes.
Hungary’s Sziget Festival reclaimed its title of Best Major Festival (after its previous win in 2012), with Belgium scooping multiple gongs in the form of Best Indoor Festival (I Love Techno), Promoter Of The Year (Live Nation Belgium) and also Best Newcomer Artist (Stromae).
The United Kingdom had a higher profile than usual with Festival Republic’s Melvin Benn receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award (as previously announced), Glastonbury winning Best Line-Up and the Arctic Monkeys scooping not one but two awards (Best Headliner and Anthem Of The Year, the latter for ‘R U Mine’).
The event honoured its first ever winner from Montenegro with Sea Dance Festival, organised by the Serbian team behind Exit, awarded Best Medium-Sized Festival.
The host country of the event (The Netherlands) also landed two trophies with Down The Rabbit Hole Festival being voted Best New Festival and MOJO/Loc Festivals scoring the YES GROUP Health & Safety Innovation Award which recognises innovative ways festivals have enhanced health and safety within their spaces.
Spain’s Primavera Sound was declared the Artists’ Favourite Festival whilst Best Small Festival went to Poland’s Tauron Nowa Muzyka. The Green Operations Award hailed Denmark’s Roskilde Festival in co-operation with Stop Wasting Food as the night’s champions of sustainability.
The brand new Award for Excellence and Passion, recognising an individual whose dedication and creativity has produced a truly magical event, went to Roskilde Festival’s Rikke Øxner, who retired this year after serving the festival for two decades. Famous for continuing to camp at the festival, with her audience, Rikke continues to help shape the event as its Artistic Director.
