'I think people need to start opening their eyes and ears and realising that there's so much female talent out there,' she says to event organizers.
- May 30, 2018
AceShowbiz - Dua Lipa has called on festival chiefs to offer more female acts the chance to headline their events.
The "New Rules" singer, 22, is performing on the main stage at Britain's Reading and Leeds Festival this summer and wants to see more women get the chance to play on the biggest stage.
In an interview with British website NME, she explained that event organisers have huge power over bookings - and called on them to make more effort to ensure diverse headliners.
"A lot of it is down to the festival directors and the people they book," she stated. "I think people need to start opening their eyes and ears and realising that there's so much female talent out there. Obviously festivals need established talent but it's really important to bring new music into big festivals and to give them an opportunity."
Bosses at Britain's Performing Right Society (PRS) for Music launched a campaign for gender balanced line-ups earlier this year, and Dua, who played her first major gig at Holland's Eurosonic Noorderslag festival in 2016, said opening up slots will help new female artists and bands.
"I remember when I was starting out I had to really push to get some festivals slots and to get people to give me a platform," she added. "It's really down to the big board of directors to give us a chance because we have a voice but we need to be empowered to use it. It's all really down to that."
This year Reading and Leeds organisers have also come under fire for moving away from the festival's rock traditions by booking pop and hip-hop stars, but Dua hopes her show will prove disgruntled rockers wrong.
"I totally know the legacy that Reading and Leeds have had and that in the past, it's been more of a rock festival, but when you come to do a show, there's so much energy to it and there's so much diversity to the sound, it's not just a pop show," she explained. "I feel like there is room for diversity and I think there is room for pop artists to come and bring their best show to festivals which aren't necessarily directed in that genre."
