The owner and managing director of Green Man has been awarded a prestigious honour within the live events industry.

Fiona Stewart won the Access All Areas (AAA) Editor’s Award at an event held in London’s O2 arena.

The AAA Awards celebrate excellence in the live events industry, with the Editor’s Award being the top accolade.

Ms Stewart received the award in recognition of her contribution to the festival industry.

She collected the award, which had been previously won by Glastonbury Festival’s Emily Eavis, in front of an audience of 2,000 festival and live event industry peers.

Upon receiving the award, Ms Stewart thanked Access All Areas and added: "Any success is due to the team you have around you, and I am so grateful for the support of the many gifted and passionate people who have worked with me over the years, especially my son Ben, Nush and Mike. Their hard work and talent has made so much possible.

“I also want to thank the people of Cymru and the welcome you bring to visitors year on year - this award is for you.”

Green Man Festival welcomes 25,000 visitors a day annually to the Black Mountains and is one of very few remaining large-scale independent festivals.

The 2024 edition sold out in less than an hour with the line-up yet to be announced.

The festival has received many awards over the years, including Best UK Festival on five occasions, as well as awards for accessibility, design, tourism, sustainability, food and ale.

Ms Stewart has spearheaded some of the UK’s most innovative live event legislation and initiatives and has advised government for more than 30 years. Her expertise in crowd psychology played a key role in shaping the 2003 Event License legislation. Her work has informed the British Council and Foreign Office in evaluating safety standards for emerging touring destinations in China, Eastern Europe, Brazil, and India during the early 2000s and more recently developing economic and cultural engagement opportunities in Cuba and Kyrgyzstan.

In 2001, Ms Stewart introduced the Festival Control Method, first implemented at The Big Chill, which has since become a festival industry standard.

She has also held the position of chair of the Business Group, advising the fulfilment of the UK and Welsh Government’s £120 million Mid Wales Growth Scheme.

Ms Stewart was the first woman to be awarded the top festival accolade Outstanding Contribution to UK Festivals in 2016.

Access All Areas content director Christopher Barrett said: “Fiona Stewart is a festival industry pioneer, someone who has been hugely influential while steadfastly sticking to her principles and creative vision as an independent operator.

“Fiona’s undiminished spirit of creativity and innovation has seen her build the Green Man into one of the world's biggest and best-loved festivals. A strikingly unique event, Green Man is one of the very few major festivals to remain truly independent.

“When considering who should win the Editor’s Award, Fiona came instantly to mind - she is in a field of her own.”