Festival Republic

Festival Republic is a UK music promoter. Among its interests, it runs the Reading and Leeds festivals and is contracted to manage the Glastonbury Festival. The group was founded in 1982 by chairman Vince Power, with a venue called simply Mean Fiddler. After acquiring the LA2 (now known as the Astoria2) in Charing Cross Road in 2000, it was renamed to become the Mean Fiddler Music Group. Melvin Benn is the current managing director. In April 2005, they accepted a takeover bid from Hamsard Ltd, a co-operative company 50.1% owned by Live Nation UK (formerly the entertainment division of Clear Channel UK but now part of Live Nation International) and 49.9% owned by Irish event organiser MCD. In 2006, the Mean Fiddler Music Group reduced...