The average age of festival-goers is set to plummet, if organisers of My First Festival have anything to do with it. After selling 35,000 tickets for the four-day event in Portugal, promoters Lemon and Dan Colman Entertainment are rolling out into Spain in 2008, followed by the UK the year after.

Based on the classic festival model with a main stage and rock ‘n’ roll production, My First Festival features 30-45 minute sets of songs from a variety of popular children’s show characters such as Noddy and Bob The Builder. The first event took place at Parque dos Poetas (15,000-capacity) outside Lisbon in June with an average ticket price of €25.

The average age of festival-goers is set to plummet, if organisers of My First Festival have anything to do with it. After selling 35,000 tickets for the four-day event in Portugal, promoters Lemon and Dan Colman Entertainment are rolling out into Spain in 2008, followed by the UK the year after.

“Families only come to one day, because it’s all repeated,” says Lemon’s co-owner Antonio Villas-Boas. “We found that 80% of them had arrived by 9am when the gates opened, and they stayed until 9pm when they closed.”

Outside of the main stage entertainment was a variety of family activities including inflatables and games, and without high artist fees and a bill that repeats each day, it’s an attractive proposition.

Lemon, along with children’s show veteran and partner Dan Colman, is looking for a 30,000-capacity open-air site for May’s Barcelona roll out, while currently sourcing a principal sponsor for the UK launch in 2009.

“In the last three to four years the whole idea of outdoor events has become more mainstream than ever,” says Dan Colman. “We’re looking to take our market share into that area.”