A Catch-up with Ed Butler: Inside the AIF Festival Congress

LS Events was represented by Projects Director Ed Butler at the AIF Festival Congress, a valuable opportunity to explore the future of independent festivals and connect with peers from across the industry. Independent festivals play a crucial role in the UK’s live events ecosystem, driving innovation, nurturing talent and anchoring events in their communities. We caught up with Ed to hear his perspective on what lies ahead.

“The day began with a roundtable discussion on Event Production Network, where fellow event operators engaged in insightful conversations about industry trends and joint challenges.

The Congress introduction highlighted amazing initiatives, including:

🫶 The AIF Fallow Festival Fund: Industry support helping independent festivals rebound after strategic pauses, which LS Events is actively supporting by offering a free 30 minute consultation to Festivals with a capacity of 2,500 or more that are taking a hiatus in 2026.

📍 The AIF Festival Directory: A comprehensive directory of independent festivals and suppliers across the UK.

🎪 the fold.: A network dedicated to supporting event freelancers, advocating for fairer pay and improved standards.

💷 LIVE (Live music Industry Venues and Entertainment) Trust: A funding scheme redistributing voluntary ticket contributions to support grassroots music venues, artists, and festivals across the UK.

💚 Vision for Sustainable Events: A sneak peek into the forthcoming The Show Must Go On Report, outlining 30 climate actions for event organisers.

A particularly engaging session was The Greenfield Festivals Operations Breakout, a platform for diverse discussions covering various topics such as staffing, volunteers and welfare, operational safety, weather and security, economic pressures and the cost of living, audience behaviour and inclusion, ethics, politics and controversial artists.

The day concluded with a live recording of the podcast “When Shit Goes Wrong At Events”, where the panel delved into the four key operational anxieties: toilets, traffic, talent and tickets, resonating with many event professionals. It’s exciting to see what ultimately made it into the final edit.

Thanks for your report Ed! We are so proud to support the AIF and its members. Applications are still open for the Fallow Festival Fund, be sure to apply if you meet the criteria.