This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Business News Live Business
Festival Republic and Music Declares Emergency to research connecting festivals to the national grid
By Chris Cooke | Published on Friday 17 June 2022
Live Nation’s Festival Republic has announced that it’s funding a new research project with Music Declares Emergency that will look at the implications and logistics of connecting more UK festivals to the national power grid, reducing the need to run generators on festival sites, and thus powering those events in a more environmentally friendly way.
Announcing the project, Festival Republic boss Melvin Benn says: “This project will be a game changer for outdoor live events. Generating our own temporary power is the highest contributor of on-site greenhouse gas emissions at a festival, and by plugging into the grid we will reduce this significantly”.
The festivals company is hoping that, on the back of the research, it can run fully renewably-powered grid-connected stages at three of its events next year, while also helping other promoters and event organisers to pursue similar plans.
Benn continues: “By doing this and sharing our knowledge with others, festival goers can have an amazing time at festivals safe in the knowledge that we are doing everything we can as event organisers to create events that have positive rather than negative impacts [on the environment]”.
Welcoming the partnership with Festival Republic, Music Declares Emergency Co-Founder Lewis Jamieson adds: “Festival Republic and Melvin personally have been at the forefront of action on climate and environmental issues within the music industry for years”.
“In partnering with MDE to make renewable event power a reality”, he went on, “they are not just continuing FR’s transition towards a greener future but offering the entire live sector an invaluable pathway that will benefit the whole live music community. We are delighted to be working with Festival Republic on such a visible example of the difference positive music businesses can make in relation to the climate crisis”.
The research on connecting festival sites to the national power grid is one of a plethora of initiatives Festival Republic is pursuing to make its events more environmentally sustainable, including ever more recycling and use of recycled products onsite, schemes to encourage festival-goers to car share, and support for tree planting charity Trees For Cities.
This year’s Reading and Leeds festivals will also be powered by 100% HVO biofuel which, Festival Republic says, is “a renewable form of fuel that has 90% less carbon equivalent emissions than regular diesel”. Plus attendees at those two festivals will also have access to the findings of research by the London School Of Economics into the climate impact of food items sold at the events, with that information shared via a simple traffic light system.
