Fiona Stewart (event director)

Fiona Stewart (born 1960) is managing director and owner of the Green Man Festival, an annual independent music festival in Wales. She also sits as chair of the Green Man Trust, a charitable organisation. Stewart has worked as a consultant for the British Council and the Foreign Office. She has previously worked at Glastonbury Festival and Big Chill.

Fiona Stewart
Stewart in 2020
Born1960 (age 62–63)[1]
OccupationFestival director
Known forGreen Man Festival, The Big Chill (music festival)

Early career

Living in Camden Town, Stewart started her career in hospitality and events working as dresser for drag artists at The Black Cap[2][3] and was a punk rocker, attending countercultural festivals of the 1970s and 1980s. She later moved into the business of festival management, working at Glastonbury Festival and the Big Chill.[4] Stewart then pioneered the concept of the boutique festival, which prioritises an intimate experience with good food and family-friendly events, alongside the musical entertainment.[3] Stewart created the festival control system model first used at the Big Chill in 2001, which is now used internationally at large events. She also developed systems to run outdoor events during the foot-and-mouth disease epizootic, working with environmental health and farmer's union to run festivals during the outbreak. The Sunday Times called her the "mother of the boutique festival" in 2010.[5]

Green Man Festival
Green Man Festival's Mountain Stage in 2018

Stewart is managing director and owner of the Green Man Festival, a music festival which takes place every year on the Glanusk Park estate near Crickhowell, in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales.[6] Alongside Emily Eavis of Glastonbury Festival she is one of the few female festival directors and she is the only female owner of an independent festival.[6][1] The festival began in 2003 and by 2018 it welcomed 25,000 guests, operating without any commercial sponsorship.[7] Artists playing at the festival have included Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Hot Chip, Robert Plant and Super Furry Animals.[1][8] In 2018, Green Man Festival was found to contribute an annual £10.4 million to the Welsh economy[9] and each year the festival sells out months in advance.

Stewart is also chair of the Green Man Trust, a charitable organisation. In 2020, it launched an emergency campaign to help Welsh people affected by Storm Dennis[10] and raised £20,000. She has worked as a consultant for the British Council and the Foreign Office, advising on the possibilities of organising music festivals in Brazil, China, India and Serbia. She also curated the Welsh musical selection for the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.[1] Stewart is also a board member of the CPA Concert Promoters Association, the Welsh Government Creative Industry Advisory Panel[11] and the Mid-Wales Growth Scheme.

In 2013 Stewart was given an outstanding achievement award at the UK Festival Awards,[12] is listed as number 24 in the BBC Woman's Hour Music Power list and was shortlisted for a St David Culture Award.[13]

References
  1. Sherwin, Adam (1 December 2013). "'It's nice to go bonkers in a field': The Green Man music festival's". The Independent. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  2. Friedli, Douglas (August 2015). "Wales Business Insider: Fiona Stewart". Insider Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  3. Marshall, Tom (9 May 2014). "Green Man festival: Wales' biggest music party inspired by growing up in Camden". Hampstead Highgate Express. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  4. Raymond, Gary (31 July 2014). "In Conversation with Fiona Stewart". Wales Arts Review. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  5. Bowers, Mary (25 June 2010). "How to make your own Glasto". Sunday Times. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  6. Stevens, Jo. "Visit to Green Man Festival Site". Jo Stevens MP. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  7. "Thousands head to sold out Green Man". BBC News. 16 August 2018. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  8. Williams, Kathryn (3 July 2015). "Green Man Festival is director Fiona Stewart's "biggest dinner party ever"". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  9. "Green Man 2019: what you need to know". ITV News. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  10. Williams, Luke (19 February 2020). "Green Man pledge £10,000 to help flooded communities". Brecon & Radnor Express. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  11. "Afternoon tea, in conversation with Fiona Stewart, at Atlantic College". www.grwp.org.uk. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  12. Ibrahim, Magda (2 December 2013). "Green Man director Fiona Stewart honoured at UK Festival Awards". www.campaignlive.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  13. "Fiona Stewart". GOV.WALES. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
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