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 previously worked at Glastonbury Festival and Big Chill.

Fiona Stewart
Born1960 (age 60–61)[1]
OccupationFestival director
Known forThe Big Chill (music festival), Green Man Festival

Early career

Stewart had a son when young and brought him up as a single mother.[2] Living in Camden Town, she worked as a cleaner and as a dresser for drag artists at The Black Cap.[3][4] Stewart was a punk rocker, enjoying going to festivals in the 1970s and 1980s that were countercultural and often illegal.[1] She later moved into the business of festival management, working at Glastonbury Festival and the Big Chill.[5] 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.[4] The Sunday Times called her the "mother of the boutique festival" in 2010.[6]

Green Man Festival

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.[7] 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.[7][1] The festival began in 2003. Stewart became director in 2006 and by 2018 the Green Man welcomed 25,000 guests, operating without any commercial sponsorship.[8] Artists playing at the festival have included Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Hot Chip, Robert Plant and Super Furry Animals.[1][9]

Stewart is also chair of the Green Man Trust, a charitable organisation. In 2020, it began an emergency campaign to help Welsh people affected by Storm Dennis.[10] 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 both the CPA Concert Promoters Association and the Welsh Government Creative Industry Advisory Panel.[11]

In 2013, Stewart was given an outstanding achievement award at the UK Festival Awards.[12]

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. Coughlin, Deborah (4 August 2016). "How a Single Mom Became the Most Powerful Woman in the Festival Scene". Vice. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  3. Friedli, Douglas (August 2015). "Wales Business Insider: Fiona Stewart". Insider Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Bowers, Mary (25 June 2010). "How to make your own Glasto". Sunday Times. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  7. Stevens, Jo. "Visit to Green Man Festival Site". Jo Stevens MP. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  8. "Thousands head to sold out Green Man". BBC News. 16 August 2018. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  9. 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.
  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.
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