Bestival, the technology-loving, fancy-dressing, award-winning festival turns its sights on YouTube this year, offering the community -- wherever they may be -- the chance to tune in to the action from the event’s Main Stage and Big Top from September 7-9.



Florence + The Machine, The XX and Azealia Banks lead one of Bestival’s strongest line-ups in its nine-year history, with performances streamed from youtube.com/BestivalTV in real time. Also expect sets from the likes of Friendly Fires, Two Door Cinema Club, Emeli Sandé, Bat For Lashes, Orbital, Miike Snow and New Order. The detailed daily program of the live stream will be available on the Bestival YouTube channel.

Once Bestival comes to a close, individual songs from acts will be available on-demand for the next 90 days on the Bestival YouTube channel. But don’t let that prevent you from getting involved in the action live -- things have a tendency to happen at Bestival, so see them on YouTube first. 

Posted by Laura Quinn, YouTube Marketing Manager, recently watched “Canoeists Stunned At Swimming Koala”.


  • The pilot video should be an example of the project you want to create for your channel, and demonstrate your creativity, talent, and skill with video-creation and storytelling (the video should be max. 3 minutes in length).
  • The open response question is a written outline of your YouTube project. It is required to provide additional context to your video pilot entry and has a 400 word limit.
Our NextUp program has unearthed some fantastic creative talent over the last year and we’re delighted to announce that today we’re launching the project again for European YouTube partners.

NextUp is a development program exclusively designed for YouTube Partners with bags of potential. We’d love to see even more partners using the site as a launchpad to career success, so we’re supporting them through funding, education and promotions via NextUp. By helping them invest in new equipment and training, talented creators are going to develop whole new genres and online experiences for audiences around the world - ironing skydiving anyone?

Eligibility

So, let’s get down to the details. If you’re an official YouTube partner in either France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, or the UK and are 18+ years old on the day of application, then you could be eligible to enter. Your channel must have between 5,000 - 100,000 subscribers as of August 17th 2012 and you must have uploaded at least 6 public videos to your channel in the last 6 months (February 17th 2012 - August 17th 2012). If you meet the eligibility requirements, then you can apply here.

In order to apply, you’ll need to submit one pilot video and answer one free response question:

  • The pilot video should be an example of the project you want to create for your channel, and demonstrate your creativity, talent, and skill with video-creation and storytelling (the video should be max. 3 minutes in length).
  • The open response question is a written outline of your YouTube project. It is required to provide additional context to your video pilot entry and has a 400 word limit.

Applications are open until September 23rd 2012. Once applications close, a panel of YouTube judges and the 2011 NextUp winners will select 25 winners from across Europe.

Prizes

Winners will receive an all expenses paid to trip to London, where you’ll be able to attend a week of hands-on training and mentorship in our brand new creator space, complete with studios, editing suites and the latest audio-visual equipment. In addition, winners will get a €4,000 video equipment package and €3,000 in cash to help boost the quality of your content as well as promotion across YouTube to help you build your audience

We can’t wait to see what creative ideas you all come up with in 2012!

Kinzie Kramer, YouTube Partner Marketing, recently watched "Come With Us -- Lindsey Stirling & Can't Stop Won't Stop".

This weekend we’re looking forward to attending Summer in the City in London, an annual gathering of the YouTube clans that has seen its audience grow to more than 1,500 in just four years.

Here’s a message from the founders:



This year the event will be held at The Brewery in Central London.  Whether you’re a creator, producer, or a fan, there are activities including workshops, games, exhibitions, live musical performances and more. Admission is free, so if you’re in London head down from noon on Friday, and 11am on Saturday.

We’ll be hosting a room where you can speak directly with YouTube experts about your channel, including tips and tricks to get the most out of your videos.  There will also be workshops on a range of topics throughout Friday and Saturday -- sign up for these here.

If you can’t attend, the Saturday evening event will also be live streamed from 5pm (BST) on the Summer in the City YouTube channel. Tune in to see what’s going on at the venue and see some of your favourite YouTube acts performing live on stage.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Kieran Doyle, YouTube Partner Operations, UK, recently watched “Team GB: Don’t Stop Me Now”.

Rock the Games has added a new act to its line-up of artists performing and responding to fan questions, with Noisettes scheduled to be streamed live from 5pm this Friday, August 10.

The band joins acts like Rizzle Kicks, Lawson, Mika and Conor Maynard in playing live and answering questions gleaned from Twitter and Google+ at the London 2012 channel, so ask what you will using the hashtag #asknoisettes.



Sadly, Pixie Lott, who was scheduled to feature in Rock the Games this Friday, has had to withdraw.

Laura Quinn, YouTube Marketing Manager, recently watched “Don’t Upset The Rhythm”.





YouTube sensation Conor Maynard (aka The British Justin Bieber) has been added to the roster of talent lined up for the Rock The Games series, which streams live from tomorrow -- August 7 -- on the official London 2012 channel.

The 19-year-old, who this week topped the album charts with debut LP “Contrast”, was signed on the strength of his YouTube channel /skillzaisherebooya, covering tracks like Beyoncé’s “If I Were A Boy” and is slated to play both legs of the V Festival on August 18/19. 



He joins Rizzle Kicks, Lawson, Mika and Pixie Lott in answering questions gleaned from Twitter and Google+ at /London2012, using the hashtags #askpixie, #asklawson, #askmika, #askrizzlekicks and now #askconor.

So get thinking, and to inspire you here’s an interesting question put to Pixie Lott by @pixiefan_123: “If you could live off one food for five days, what food would you choose?”

Laura Quinn, YouTube Marketing Manager, recently watched “Conor Maynard Vegas Girl Intro...”

London 2012 isn’t just about athletic and sporting excellence, it’s also about showcasing the best that the United Kingdom has to offer -- a fact not lost on the Organising Committee, LOCOG. In that spirit they have launched the ‘Rock the Games’ programme, which sees artists perform in venues throughout the Olympics.

In addition, the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) will be live streaming selected artists on their official London 2012 YouTube channel as part of the ‘Rock the Games’ music programme.

Rock the Games will feature live performances and interviews with artists performing in London 2012 venues. The YouTube community in the UK and US will have the chance to ask questions and watch some of the artists perform a song or two. The series will be hosted by presenter Gemma Cairney.



The series kicks off on Tuesday, August 7, with Rizzle Kicks (#askrizzlekicks) and Lawson (#asklawson), and will continue with artists including Mika (#askmika) and Pixie Lott (#askpixie). The full schedule of performances can be found on the London 2012 YouTube channel and updates will be provided on the London 2012 Google+ page.

Laura Quinn, YouTube Marketing Manager, recently watched "Marley".