Forwards: The event helping young people get into the festival industry in Bristol

Forwards Festival is underway in Bristol offering a platform for artists and those hoping to make their first step in the industry.

Big Team is a community interest company offering work opportunities and placements to people traditionally excluded from the space. It's been created by Team Love, a Bristol-based company specialising in festival and event production.

Phoebe Holman, producer of Big Team, said: "People from underrepresented backgrounds or low economic communities find it difficult to gain access into the festival, events and creative industries.

"So Team Love as a response to this have set up a CIC called Big Team and that's exactly our job."

The initiative hopes to make the event more inclusive by diversifying groups who create and attend them.

Jazpa Taylor, assistant producer at Big Team, wants to lead by example for young people hoping to break into the industry.

He said: "I wanted to be a representation for them so that they're able to see someone that's like them come from a similar background to them and understand that that's something they can access as well."

Jazpa has first hand experience of barriers into the industry: "Being a black male there's a lot of stereotypical views of me jumping into a role.

"Potentially I won't be as hard-working or whatever the case may be, so alongside that I'm having to defeat all these stereotypes and prove people wrong."

Forwards Festival itself offers employment opportunities on a bigger scale according to organiser, Tom Paine.

Tom said: "Economically there's food traders, there's bar traders, there's all the staff, there's security, there's stewards, I think we employ something like 2,000 people over the weekend.

"To have that within Bristol and to benefit the local economy is massive."

Big Team is offering placements and long-term roles across large scale festival productions in Bristol.

'T' is already benefitting from the scheme after struggling to gain access into the industry.

"I've already experienced some seats in PR, production, and artist liaison", she said.

"I would love to just keep working on my experience across all of those. Just keep on going and maybe one day who knows I might be a festival director."

The initiative offers a space for young people to learn and develop their skills, inspiring those who may well be at the forefront of the industry in years to come.