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Roskilde co-founder to receive lifetime achievement award

By | Published on Thursday 6 January 2011

Festival Awards

Leif Skov, co-founder of the Roskilde Foundation, is to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the European Festival Awards later this month, it has been announced.

The Roskilde Foundation took over the running of the Roskilde Festival in 1972, the event having been launched the previous year by two Danish high school students. As one of the heads of the organisation, Skov helped to expand Roskilde from a 15,000 to 100,000 capacity event over 30 years and saw it become one of Europe’s most prestigious festivals before he stepped down in 2002. He was also involved in developing and instigating huge changes to health and safety procedures after nine people were killed in a crowd surge at the 2000 Roskilde event.

Skov is also a founding member of the European festival association Yourope, and held a place on the organisation’s board between 1998 and 2002.

On being chosen to receive the award, Skov told CMU: “Music is great. The world is everything. I’m just me. Young people’s lives and visions carry the highest challenge and motivation for us all. It’s a pleasure to work for these. I’m thankful and humble. I receive the award still in service of the music, in respect for youth culture, and with the greatest care for young people of the world”.

Yourope general secretary Christof Huber added: “I was lucky enough to be with Leif on the founding board of Yourope. He was and still is a visionary. His primary goal was always to raise the quality standards for European Festivals – not just for Roskilde. He wanted to give festival-goers the best possible experience. He is one of the biggest characters in the history of European festivals!”

The European Festival Awards will take place at Eurosonic Noorderslag on 12 Jan.



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