KOI 2020 to be Enhanced with New Awards

	2019 Knight of Illumination Awards ceremony and gala dinner. Photo: Knight of Illumination Awards

The Knight of Illumination (KOI) Awards has announced the introduction of two new awards to the Concerts and Events category for the 2020 ceremony. The new awards are being added to the line-up to accommodate the ever-evolving high standards of production in live events.

The new Award for Festival Headliner, sponsored by Ayrton, will be open to submissions for any festival headline set that has been designed with additional packages without relying solely on the use of the pre-installed festival rig. To accommodate the entire festival season, eligible performances will have been performed between January 1 and December 31, 2019, and the closing date for submissions is June 30, 2020.

Long-standing Concert and Events chair Jess Allan says, "We have seen such incredible growth in festival design over the last few years, with more and more designers implementing their own rigs and equipment to put on a spectacle. Following some of the ground-breaking festival shows that were staged last year, we feel that now is the time to introduce this award."

The existing Award for Events in the Concerts and Events category will, from 2020 onwards, be split into two separate awards -- the Award for Event Lighting Design, sponsored by DTS, and The Award for Event Digital Content. Lastly, for the Concerts and Events category, the existing Award for Video Content, sponsored by disguise, will be renamed the Digital and Video Content Award, and will be open to digital and video content designs from all concert sizes: Club, Stage, and Arena.

At last year's KOI Awards ceremony, video designer Ash Woodward collected the disguise Award for Video Content on behalf of colleague Adam Young, who won for their design for Years and Years. Woodward told KOI backstage, "In other award ceremonies, we don't really get the recognition because video is usually coupled with lighting or set. It's great to have our own category at KOI and to be recognized individually."

At the same time, the Television category will now comprise four awards rather than five, following the merging of the Light Entertainment Award and the Events Award, sponsored by JLL. The two television Awards have been combined after KOI judges noticed a continued crossover between the submissions received for both awards. In one final change for 2020, the Video Content Award will now be the Video Content and Scenic Design, sponsored by Green Hippo, to encourage additional designers to submit.

This year's ceremony and gala dinner will once again return to the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith on September 6 to coincide with the PLASA trade show.

Submissions can be made for the UK Awards through the Knight of Illumination Awards website until June 30.