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Australian promoter Michael Chugg has taken home the “Bottle Award” at the 20th Annual ILMC (International Live Music Conference) Arthur Awards ceremony held on Saturday 8th March at the Jumeirah Carlton Towers in London.

The prize, one of just eight presented on the night, is awarded based on an Outstanding Contribution to Live Music and is commonly recognised as the ILMC’s version of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Bottle Award is not the first ILMC win for Michael Chugg who took home the award for “Promoter’s Promoter” in 2006.

The Arthur Awards, which began as a “tongue-in-cheek” affair, has now grown to international acclaim and is taken very seriously by the entertainment industry at large.

The Awards recognise industry members in unique and playful categories such as ‘First Venue to Come Into Your Head’, ‘The Promoters' Promoter’, ‘Second Least Offensive Agent’ and ‘Tomorrow's New Boss’.

To mark the ILMC’s 20th anniversary, the nomination panel for this year’s Awards consisted of all individuals who have previously won an Arthur Award and a cross section of the organisation’s longest standing delegates. 

Michael Chugg was thrilled to be announced as the 2008 recipient of the Bottle Award: “I’m very proud. I came all the way to London to celebrate 20 years of this fantastic event. I always enjoy coming to ILMC and having the opportunity to see all of these great people in the business in one place at one time.  I’m truly honoured to be have been recognised by people who are not only my peers, but also great friends who know and love this crazy business as much as I do”.

“I also have to recognise the great team of people behind me. A lifetime achievement award comes with a lifetime of great partners and associates. They keep the business together, keep me excited and just as I do, always strive to create magic,” said Chugg.

“The team at Chugg Entertainment are at this moment juggling over 40 tours which all hit the ground in the next few weeks. And then there’s the Blues Festivals which have expanded to 5 cities this year, plus our first ever country music festival in Thredbo which is next weekend. It’s pretty busy but a testament to them that I can be over here to receive this great honour and everything keeps moving ahead as it should”.

To be the recipient of this honorary Award in the Conference’s 20th year is a great synergy for Chugg who, along with his business partners, plans to make next year’s East Coast Blues & Roots Festival in Byron Bay, celebrating it’s own 20th anniversary, the best event in the Festival’s history.