Stefan Edwards is Senior Events Officer at Bristol City Council, he leads on commissioning Bristol Harbour Festival and Bristol Run, attracting 200,000+ people and millions of pounds of investment to the city. Stefan has increasingly specialised in event sustainability and was recently awarded a prestigious Churchill Fellowship to research innovative approaches to decarbonising event power. In this guest article, he shares his journey so far after travelling across Europe to learn how festivals in the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway are decarbonising power.
If you have the desire to tackle an issue that you care deeply about, consider applying to the Churchill Fellowship for support Applications are currently open until midday on 4 November 2025. If you’ve got an idea, apply now!
“Over the past 15 years working in festivals and as an attendee, I’ve seen the magic that live events can bring to audiences, but this has often come at a cost to the environment. In recent years, in my role as a Senior Events Officer with Bristol City Council, I’ve become increasingly focused on sustainability and helping shape a greener future for events in in the city and beyond. I feel a moral responsibility to improve the planet for future generations and believe there’s huge potential to make a positive impact through events and culture.
One area which I’m particularly interested in is event power and how cities, events and other partners can work together to decarbonise the power used at events. I was lucky enough to be awarded a Churchill Fellowship grant to research this topic. The purpose of my fellowship was to research innovative approaches to reducing power usage, and decarbonising by transitioning to sustainable energy. Earlier this year, funded by the Churchill Fellowship, I embarked on two research trips to learn from the innovative work already being done by world leading events, travelling to the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.
On my first trip I spent two weeks in Amsterdam and surrounding areas. I met with NRG and learned about their power map, which has reduced diesel emissions in the city by 27%. They took me on a tour and I saw first hand how the map was not only supporting decarbonisation of events, but had also spread into other sectors, such as filming and construction sites. I was also able to see the innovative kit they have developed to enable events to tap into the growing network of electric vehicle charging points. Another highlight of the trip was attending DGTL festival, where I was shown their pilot with Watermelon (a sustainable energy solutions company), powering part of the festival with green hydrogen.
I was particularly inspired by how DGTL weren’t just focused on the benefits for their event and the sector. The festival has developed the project alongside multiple stakeholders, to ensure that learnings are shared across the city and benefit wider society. I also visited Paaspop Festival to discuss the challenges faced by events with big power demands, which are outside of major cities. I met up with the organisers of Into the Great Wide Open, a festival which happens on the beautiful island of Vlieland, a nature reserve just outside of Amsterdam, and learned about their projects decarbonising power supplies and the plant machinery used to build the event.
My second trip took me to Scandinavia. In Norway, I visited the site of Øya Festivalen, where the organisers showed me the power upgrades they had worked with the municipality to install and also discussed the importance of sustainability being integral to the ethos of an organisation. My next stop was Stockholm, where I met with the organisers of Kultur Festival, Way Out West and Rosendal Garden Party, gaining insights into the challenges they have faced and overcome in the past decade. My final stop was Norrköping, a UNESCO City of Music. Here, I learned about the fantastic work the city has done on upgrading green infrastructure during major regeneration, and how they continue to support event organisers in decarbonising their power.
Throughout my research trips I embraced slow travel. In total, I travelled 3,200 miles by land and sea, through six countries. I used 29 trains, 22 metros, 11 trams, 9 ferries, 5 buses, 1 taxi and took 400,000 steps. I didn’t take a single flight, and the trip was much better for it. The travel time gave me space to process the wealth of information I was given by my hosts, and I had plenty of interesting chats with other travellers along the way. It also allowed me to take in some stunning scenery, as I wound my way through fields and fjords, over rivers and past mountains.
Since returning home, I’ve already been able to use the knowledge from my trips, working towards making improvements here in Bristol – watch this space for more news on that soon! I’ve also been speaking with other cities and regions, to share what I’ve learned across the country. I’m working on a detailed report to share my findings, which will be published in the coming months on the Churchill Fellowship website and shared on the Vision for Sustainable Events website.
I can’t speak highly enough about my experience of becoming a Churchill Fellow. If you have the desire to tackle an issue that you care deeply about, I highly recommend applying. If you’re passionate about making change happen, the Churchill Fellowship could be your launchpad. The Churchill Fellowship funds UK citizens to travel the world, explore innovative solutions, and bring back ideas that can transform lives and communities. The Fellowship is open to every UK citizen over 18, regardless of background, qualifications, or experience. Since 1965, over 5,800 Fellows have been appointed to travel in the name of Sir Winston Churchill, discovering best practices and sharing their insights across the UK.
To quote the man himself… “What is the use of living, if it not be to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?” – Sir Winston Churchill.
Applications are currently open until midday on 4 November 2025. If you’ve got an idea, apply now!
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Website – Stefan Edwards / Home | Stefan Edwards
This guest article originally appeared in our October 2025 Vision for Sustainable Events newsletter. Sign up to receive monthly event sustainability news, case studies and guest blogs direct to your inbox.