REYKJAVÍK NAMED WORLD FESTIVAL AND EVENT CITY
The City of Reykjavik has received the honorary title of 2011 World Festival and Event City. The award was announced at the International Festivals & Events Association‘s (IFEA) annual convention on 3rd October 2011.
The IFEA World Festival & Event City Award was designed and created as a way for the global festivals and events industry to openly encourage, support and recognise positive local environments for festivals and events worldwide. Festivals and events create tremendous community and economic capital in the markets that they serve, but the partnership with and support from the local community, at all levels, is critical to the success and sustainability of existing festivals and events, as well as the ability to attract and encourage new events.
City entries were judged by an international panel of industry experts and divided into population categories and global region. Reykjavik was categorised as a city population with 100,000 to 1 million inhabitants and received the Judges Selection for Most Outstanding Global Entry in Population Category.
According to the judge panel's statement “Reykjavik enjoys a surprisingly energetic and inspiring community of artists, musicians, writers and designers. This creative group finds one of its outlet in the cities numerous festivals and events. Reykjavik offers ongoing festivals and events throughout the year. The city is the home of around 30 festivals annually which focus on everything between tango and the Icelandic horse, design and cutting edge theatre. The City of Reykjavik produces many of the city's largest festivals and is a proud and important sponsor of many more. In 2004 the City Council approved a Tourism Policy which supported the importance of festivals and events for the cities' image as a young, cultural and vibrant city. In 2011, Reykjavik City Council approved a new Tourism Policy which further emphasizes the importance of festivals and events playing a major role in portraying Reykjavik as an attractive destination all year round.”
Reykjavík City Council celebrates this prestigious award and acknowledges the many individuals, organisations and companies who have worked hard at strengthening Reykjavik's festival and event scene: „The award will help promote Reykjavík as a lively festival city and is a worthy recognition of the professionalism evident in the city's events organisation”.
Sif Gunnarsdottir, Director of Visit Reykjavík adds: „The award is extremely valuable in order to attract more international events to Reykjavik, both large and small. It demonstrates that the city has the optimal infrastructure and the right tools to organise festivals and events successfully”.
2011 IFEA World Festival & Event City Award Recipients included:
City Populations Under 100,000
• Meizhou Island of Putian City, Fujian Province, China
• Gimje-si , Jeollabuk-do, South Korea
- Judges Selection for Most Outstanding Global Entry in Population Category
City Populations 100,000 to 1 Million
• Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil
• Reykjavik, Iceland
- Judges Selection for Most Outstanding Global Entry in Population Category
City Populations Over 1 Million
• Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
• São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
• Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
• Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Shanghai, China
• Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Judges Selection for Most Outstanding Global Entry in Population Category
About IFEA
Founded in 1956 and based in the United States, The International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA) is the premiere association supporting and enabling festival and event professionals worldwide. Visit Reykjavík has been a member of the association since its establishment in 2002.
Click here to see the application.