Festivals and Events International

What Festivals and Events International does

Festivals and Events International Ltd (FEI) is a specialist cultural consultancy founded in London in 2008 by Nick Dodds. The firm provides strategic and operational advice to towns, cities, government agencies, and cultural venues and organisations across the UK and internationally, operating across three core practice areas: Festivals and Events consulting, Cultural Venues advisory, and Placemaking. Supporting service modules include cultural strategies, feasibility studies and options appraisals, business planning and business cases, venue reviews and capital project development, NLHF activity plans, organisational development and governance, evaluation design, fundraising and commercial strategies, and stakeholder engagement. All engagements are delivered by senior international experts supported by experienced teams applying what the firm describes as tried and tested methodologies.

The business is a pure-play professional services consultancy: it does not develop proprietary technology platforms or software, and it generates revenue through project-based advisory engagements with publicly disclosed pricing or contract values. GTM is sales-led and relationship-driven, relying on the team's personal networks, conference presence, published thought leadership (such as Nick Dodds' 2015 Thundering Hooves 2.0 strategy for Edinburgh's Festivals), and referrals rather than competitive tender. The team is small (1–10 employees) and consists of the founder Managing Director, one Director, one Business Manager, and a bench of Associate Directors and Associates — most of whom are former senior leaders of major UK cultural institutions including the Barbican Centre, Royal Opera House, Edinburgh International Festival, British Council Arts, LOCOG, and Creative Scotland.

The customer base is heavily weighted toward UK local authorities and arts funding bodies (Wiltshire Council, Worcester City Council, Nottingham City Council, Belfast City Council, Arts Council England, Arts Council Northern Ireland, British Council), with notable international mandates including Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Northern Ireland, the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Culture, FIFA World Cup Qatar, and the Hay Festival Foundation. The firm operates as an independent, founder-led private limited company with no disclosed external investors, parent entity, subsidiaries, or funding rounds across its 18-year history.

Name

Festivals and Events International

Legal name

Festivals and Events International Ltd

Website

https://feiuk.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

FEI is a London-based specialist cultural consultancy providing strategic and operational advice on festivals, cultural venues, and placemaking to UK local authorities, arts funding bodies, and international government clients including the Saudi Ministry of Culture and FIFA Qatar.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Consultancy Services: FEI generates revenue through providing strategic and operational consultancy services to towns, cities, government agencies, and cultural venues. Services include festival and event strategies, cultural strategies, venue reviews, business planning, feasibility studies, and organisational development.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

FEI is a specialist cultural consultancy providing strategic and operational advice to towns, cities, government agencies, and cultural venues and organisations across the UK and worldwide. Its core work covers three practice areas: Festivals and Events Consulting, Cultural Venues Advisory, and Placemaking Services, complemented by service modules in business planning, feasibility studies, organisational development, evaluation, fundraising, and stakeholder engagement. All projects are led by senior international experts supported by experienced teams using tried and tested methodologies.

Product overview

Festivals and Events International (FEI) is a specialist cultural consultancy providing strategic and operational advice to towns, cities, government agencies, and cultural venues. The company operates as a single integrated consultancy offering multiple service modules rather than a software platform. The core service portfolio includes three main practice areas: Festivals and Events Consulting, Cultural Venues Advisory, and Placemaking Services. These are supported by specialized service modules including Business Planning and Business Cases, Feasibility Studies and Options Appraisals, Cultural Strategies, Festival and Event Strategies, Venue Reviews and Capital Project Development, NLHF Activity Plans, Organisational Development and Governance, Evaluation Design, Fundraising and Commercial Strategies, and Stakeholder Engagement services. All projects are led by senior international experts with tried and tested methodologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 200 projects completed in 18 years
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Other Organisations (Various)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFEI regularly works in partnership with other organisations on projects. They accept project enquiries from organisations they can collaborate with. Partnership arrangements appear project-specific rather than formal ongoing alliances.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Morris Hargreaves McIntyre: Morris Hargreaves McIntyre is a UK-based cultural strategy and insight consultancy working with arts organisations, museums, and local authorities on audience and strategic planning. Its public-sector and cultural-venue client base overlaps closely with FEI's.
• Baker Richards: Baker Richards is a UK consultancy that provides financial management, business planning, and feasibility services to arts and cultural organisations, including venue and festival clients — a tight peer in FEI's business planning and venues practice.
• Counterculture: Counterculture is a UK consultancy providing strategic, evaluation, and research services to the arts, cultural, and creative industries sectors — overlapping with FEI in evaluation design, feasibility studies, and cultural strategy mandates for public clients.
• AEA Consulting: AEA Consulting is a global arts and cultural strategy firm serving foundations, governments, and cultural institutions on planning, capacity building, and programme design. Its international mandate and public-sector client base directly parallel FEI's festival and venues advisory work.
• BOP Consulting: BOP Consulting is a specialist cultural and creative industries consultancy that advises governments, cities, and cultural organisations on strategy, evaluation, and economic impact — the closest direct peer to FEI in the UK cultural advisory market.
• The Audience Agency: The Audience Agency is a UK-based specialist consultancy supporting arts and cultural organisations with audience development, data, and strategy. It is a direct peer in the UK cultural advisory space, focused on venues and festivals in FEI's primary client verticals.

Regional players

• Culture24: Culture24 is a UK cultural-sector consultancy and digital platform supporting museums, galleries, and cultural organisations with audience development and digital strategy. It is adjacent rather than directly competitive, sharing FEI's UK public-sector cultural client base.

Emerging players

• Trajectory (cultural consultancy): Trajectory is a cultural strategy consultancy working on creative economy, regeneration, and cultural infrastructure projects. It addresses a similar buyer (cities, cultural ministries) but with broader creative-economy framing, positioning it as an emerging competitor to FEI's placemaking practice.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FEI_UK

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Festivals and Events International