The Advice Line, a tool offering aspiring event professionals advice on how to fuel their career, will re-open for bookings next week.
The line, hosted by independent festival production company The Fair, offers anybody looking to start their own festival, or kickstart their career in events, the opportunity to book a 30-minute chat with an industry professional possessing years of experience in the field.
The Advice Line originally launched in March 2023 and proved a huge success, with over 100 callers benefitting. The line closed temporarily while the team were busy producing festivals and events throughout the summer, but is open for bookings as of today.
Whether it be a new festival promoter or a student starting their journey in events, industry professionals will be on hand to provide advice via phone or video call, on how to further progress their career.
Yasmin Galletti, Director at The Fair, is the brains behind the tool, which she created to encourage fresh talent into the industry.
Galletti said: “I’m incredibly proud of what The Advice Line has achieved within its first year, with over 100 calls received. The response received has been nothing short of inspiring, and hearing the ongoing stories and successes from those who have reached out has been both humbling and deeply motivating. I’m pleased that The Fair will host The Advice again this year, and I look forward to continuing to support and connect with our community.”
Callers will have the option of speaking to The Fair’s Festival Director, Millie Devereux or Director at The Fair and We Group, Rob Dudley, both of whom have over 30 years of industry experience combined. Other industry leaders are expected to join the line at a later date.
Devereux discovered her love for festival production working on the bars of music festivals, aged 18. She worked as Bar Manager at various music festivals before studying Event Management at University of Bournemouth. During her time at university, she undertook a year internship with Continental Drifts Festival Production Agency, where she started out as an Events Assistant for the music festival, We Are FTSVL, supporting as production co-ordinator, site office manager, operations assistant at various other festivals during her internship.
After graduation, Devereux went back to Continental Drifts, working her way up to Event Manager in her six years, before starting her journey as Senior Production Manager at The Fair. Over the past 5 years, she has produced festivals including El Dorado, Eastern Electrics, On The Mount at Wasing and Boiler Room: London to name a few. Now, leading the festival department as The Fair’s Production Director, Devereux oversees all aspects of production and operations for a wide range of live events, including supplier procurement, budget management, CAD design, technical production, crowd management and event operations. Devereux manages our team of Production Managers and Coordinators, and is extremely passionate about fostering new talent.
Devereux said: “I’m super excited to be hosting calls on The Advice Line in 2025. I remember so vividly how daunting it can be getting into the industry and progressing through the ranks, so I’m extremely passionate about passing on any advice, tips, tricks and well-wishing to our community of festival enthusiasts. It’s heartwarming hearing everyone’s passions and back-stories and I’m very happy to help support this amazing initiative.”
Meanwhile, Dudley has been producing live events and festivals for over two decades – in the UK, Europe and US.
He started out running bars, restaurants and nightclubs which segued into events and exhibition management, before he joined The Fair in 2010 as Event Manager. Now a Director, Dudley is focused on Risk Management and Licencing for The Fair, We Are Placemaking and We Are OPS’s broad portfolio of clients, with his time on site ranging from festivals including Houghton and Gottwood, to live stadium shows, and public realm events for some of the world’s leading property developers.
Dudley said: “This initiative has already proved really successful for those people thinking about setting out on a career in events. Practical, broad-ranging and honest advice can go a long way, and in the long term, benefit our industry as a whole.”
To book a chat through The Advice Line, callers should head to The Fair’s website, where they can arrange a time to talk to an industry professional and take their career to the next stage
