World Festival & Event City Award

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For details on the this year's IFEA World Festival & Event City Award, Click Here.

 IFEA

World Festival & Event City Award

The IFEA World Festival & Event City Award, presented by VISA, was designed and created as a way for the global festivals and events industry to openly encourage, support, learn from and recognize 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. Through this special award the IFEA is pleased to recognize and fly the flag of those cities and markets who have worked, through concerted efforts, to provide an environment conducive to successful festivals and events.

Recipients of the IFEA World Festival & Event City Award from the first two years have already provided us with a sampling of standout programs and lessons learned in multiple areas including:

·         Provision of an insurance coverage umbrella policy for all city events;

·         ‘One-stop shopping’ for event permitting and municipal service needs;

·         A common volunteer program shared by all city events;

·         Provision of a music licensing umbrella agreement for all city events;

·         Provision, maintenance and storage of non-proprietary equipment for all city events;

·         Shared marketing campaigns;

·         Provision of training seminars for city events to help ‘raise all boats’;

·         Provision of all city permits at no-cost to events;

·         Free/Discounted city services for events;

·         And many more.

It is easy to imagine the positive impact – both social and economic – that such city/event initiatives (and new ones yet to be created) can have on host communities around the world.

For each year’s selected cities, the IFEA World Festival & Event City Award provides:

·         A strong platform from which to recognize the success of current and on-going efforts by every component of your community;

·         A clear positioning statement to encourage continued infrastructure, policy and process enhancement and expansion; and

·         A powerful marketing statement for use in recruiting and encouraging new festivals, events and businesses.

VISA: Global Sponsor of the IFEA World Festival & Event City Award 
 

In 2011, VISA joined with the International Festivals & Events Association to become the sponsor of the IFEA World Festival & Event City Award, creating a natural partnership between the global events industry and the globally recognized financial leader.

“Through this unique and special award, the IFEA hopes to create and expand the dialogue between events and cities around the world, at a time when each needs to be supporting the other more than ever. VISA is the ideal partner for this program and together we look forward to creating new and ongoing opportunities to explore and inspire these important city/event partnerships, redefining ‘best practices’ and setting the stage for the future,” said Steven Wood Schmader, CFEE, President & CEO of IFEA World.

Charles Brown, Chairman & CEO of Festival Transaction Services and Festival Media Corporation, representing VISA in recognizing the 2011 IFEA World Festival & Event City Award© recipients,  commented that “The IFEA has successfully built a global network of event professionals and resources that are changing the face of the industry and VISA is proud to be a part of that effort.”

Festival Transaction Services has formed a new partnership that includes VISA, Bank of America Merchant Services and First Data Corporation – the three largest financial services companies in the United States – to provide cash management services to the festivals and events industry around the world. “We know that the professionals in the global festivals and events industry today are in need of strong and reliable partners – from recognition to cash management systems that can help them increase revenues and build stronger financial foundations. We can now bring that to the table and are excited about working with the IFEA to help strengthen the success of festivals and events around the world,” noted Brown.

For more information on VISA products and services for festivals and events, please contact Jim Shanklin, Executive Vice President of Festival Transaction Services/Festival Media Corporation at +1-206-381-5202 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .