All About
The Party
HOUSE OF BESTIVAL IS AN EVENT CONSULTANCY AND PROP HIRE BUSINESS, SPECIALISING IN ORIGINAL EVENT PRODUCTION AND BRAND ACTIVATION.
Set up by Josie da Bank and Ziggy Gilsenan, the creative and brand marketing forces behind Bestival, House of Bestival was established to share their vision and work with likeminded clients who want to go beyond the predictable and challenge the expected.
Providing consultation services for marketing, experiential and live event briefs, the House of Bestival crew have a reputation for delivering effective and distinctive results, setting a new benchmark for corporate, public and private events, tours and shows.
With one of the strongest creative teams in the industry, and Bestival’s own handcrafted décor themes including Bollywood, Lucky Cat and Reggae Roots, and an exciting selection of micro-venues, bars, furniture and props available, we have the imagination and skill to turn your event into something more extraordinary.
Learn more
Our Team
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Josie
Da Bank
Josie da Bank is the reason that Bestival looks different to other UK festivals; not only is she creative director of Bestival, but she also produces the whole shebang. Her husband Rob da Bank (Renowned music specialist) curates all the music, and Josie creates the world it plays in.
Having studied fine art and textiles at Goldsmiths (where she met Rob), Josie graduated and began a career in illustration, drawing posters and album covers for Rob's label Sunday Best Records. She opened the bar Cocomo in Shoreditch in 2000 bringing her own brand of fancy dress, cocktails and cool to the party.
In 2003, the couple had the idea to start their own festival with Ziggy and her husband John. Over a decade later, and Bestival is now a successful, 50,000 capacity, internationally renowned festival. Once Josie and Rob started their own family, they started an event for young families too, and it proved an instant hit; Camp Bestival is now in its ninth year and continues to win awards.
Josie is arguably one of the most influential producers and creatives on the UK live events scene. She continues her story having succesfully launched two new UK shows, Common People in Southampton and Oxford, a new edition of Bestival, in Toronto, and the launch of this exciting new business; the natural next step, House of Bestival.
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Ziggy
Gilsenan
Ziggy is probably the reason you’ve heard of Bestival. As co-founder and co-promoter, Ziggy oversees Bestival’s visionary marketing strategies, and communication channels, constantly nurturing the brand, and its growing portfolio, keeping it at the forefront of the festival marketplace.
A Leeds Uni graduate, her first job was as Press & Promotions Manager for The End nightclub, where she not only met friend for life, Rob da Bank, but also made a name for herself, launching the superclub’s brand into the stratosphere.
From there, Ziggy demonstrated her smart approach to bringing brands into the music sector effectively. She became Head of Youth Brands at leading PR & marketing agency, Slice, before her successes attracted the attention of global super-agency KLP Euro RSCG, where, as Media Director, she won the Orange mobile music account, resulting in the development of the Orange Chill & Charge activation at Glastonbury, and the first fully interactive superclub, at Manumission.
Taking the role of Head of Consumer Communications at Orange, she launched their biggest ever consumer initiative, Orange Wednesdays, and developed strategies for their world famous sponsorship portfolio, including the BAFTAS, Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds festivals and Orange Hay Literary Festival.
Throughout her career, festivals have always been a common thread, and when the da Bank and Gilsenan/Hughes collective gave birth to Bestival, Ziggy knew exactly what to do, using her vast experience to launch the Bestival brand into what is now global recognition, encompassing a four-festival portfolio, including family incarnation, Camp Bestival, and overseas venture Bestival Toronto.
