Wide Days Wins 'Best Networking Event' Award At The Great Escape

Wide Days, has bean voted Best Networking Event or Service at Britain’s largest industry gathering, The Great Escape. The honour was announced on Saturday [May 10] at a ceremony in Brighton, which was attended by key figures from the international music business. Wide Days, was the only UK nomination in its category at the Yearly Music Conference Award [YMCA].

It was nominated alongside much larger international events Breakout West [Canada], Tallinn Music Week [Estonia], Waves [Austria] and Music Expo [US].  Wide Days was proposed for the award by industry veteran, Allan McGowan, who was moved to put it forward after being impressed by organiser Olaf Furniss, conducting a bus tour of Edinburgh for speakers and delegates.  

“I have attended hundreds of music business conferences, but Wide Days is the first where the organiser has given a particularly well-informed guided tour of his city,” he says. “It helped create a connection with Edinburgh and was a fantastic opportunity to meet other delegates.”

Furniss, who organises Wide Days with music manager Michael Lambert, adds:

“In addition to running events, I am also member of the Scottish Tourist Guides Association, so when we invite people to speak at Wide Days I believe they should be introduced to our city, as well as Scottish talent. Music and tourism go hand in hand.”

Wide Days 2014 saw a considerable rise in the number of international speakers and included a focus on the German music market. This year’s event was marked with the announcement of a partnership with Hamburg's Reeperbahn Festival, one of Europe’s largest showcase and music industry gatherings. 

The full list of winners is:

Best Networking Event Or Service: Wide Days Edinburgh bus tour (UK)

Best Delegates Bag: BigSound (Australia)

Best Delegates Bar: M&M Finland

Best Convention Centre: Eurosonic (The Netherlands)

Best App: Reeperbahn (Germany) 

Best New Showcase Festival: Nouvelle Prague (Czech Republic)

Best Showcase Or Party: Aussie BBQ at Canadian Music Week

Best Export Office: New Zealand Export Office

Best City Champion: Tallinn Music Week (Estonia)

Convention Junkie: Michael Chugg

Brighton Legend in association with ACUMEN MEDIA LAW: Charlie Myatt 13 Artists