European Festival Awards 2025 Winners Revealed
January
15
The winners of the European Festival Awards 2025 were revealed on the opening night of Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) in Groningen.
Now a long-standing fixture in the international live music calendar, the European Festival Awards recognise innovation, sustainability, safety, programming and professional achievement across the sector.
This year’s edition reflected the scale and diversity of the European market, with festivals from more than 30 countries taking part and 300,000 individual public votes cast.
The voting process resulted in 104 shortlisted nominees across 13 categories, in addition to the Lifetime Achievement Award, highlighting the breadth of activity across festivals of all sizes and genres.
The ceremony was hosted by Lisa Henderson of IQ Magazine alongside Claire O’Neill, CEO of A Greener Future, and brought together festival organisers, agents, promoters and industry partners from across Europe.
European Festival Awards 2025 – Winners
The Take a Stand Award
Sziget Festival (Hungary)
Line-Up of the Year
Lowlands (The Netherlands)
The Event Safety Award
Rock for People (Czech Republic)
Agent of the Year
Steve Zapp (ITB)
Best Small Festival
Dynamo Metalfest (The Netherlands)
Newcomer of the Year
Addison Rae (USA)
The Brand Activation Award
Pinkpop with Libresse (The Netherlands)
Best Medium-Sized Festival
Pohoda Festival (Slovakia)
The Green Operations Award
Sterkovna Open Music (Czech Republic)
Best Major Festival
Paléo Festival Nyon (Switzerland)
The Award for Excellence & Passion
Stephan Thanscheidt (Germany)
Promoter of the Year
EXIT Festival (Serbia)
New Kid on the Block
Kristína Mlynárová (Slovakia)
The Lifetime Achievement Award
Ewald Tatar (Austria)