The Big Festoon XL At AO Arena, Manchester Review

Reviewed by Debbie Talbot

A few years ago, I became aware of Dani Wallace, founder of The Big Festoon, and Dani’s back story really resonated with me.  Several years ago, Dani started out in business with just £300.00 after experiencing challenging personal circumstances.  Probably like many others, I found Dani’s story inspirational.  Steph Taylor, who was in The Flight Squad, described Dani as “A powerhouse of a woman, with the kindest heart, most inclusive values, and endless energy.  Such an inspirational event for EVERYONE.”

For the last few years, getting to attend The Big Festoon has been very much on my wish list, but was not possible due to my circumstances, so I was delighted to be gifted a last-minute ticket in an act of kindness from one of the exhibitors.  The Big Festoon XL 2026 was on 11^th and 12^th March 2026.

The venue

The arena was well signposted and easy to find.  For those driving, there is a car park.  The arena had plenty of friendly and helpful staff on hand.  The toilet facilities were clean and well looked after.   Food, drinks and snacks were what you would expect to pay at that type of venue.

VIP event

There was a VIP event for VIP ticketholders. I did not attend this.


Day one at the event

I arrived around 9.45am and left mid-afternoon due to commitments at home. In the foyer were several exhibitors, all of whom were approachable and knowledgeable.  The arena itself was split into two sections.  In the section in front of the stage there were tables for those ticketholders with gold and VIP tickets.  I was sat in the stalls section that was further back.  During the event I caught up with some people I already knew which was lovely as well as listening to some of the talks.  I loved Dani’s energy.  Dani’s singing and the dancers were amazing.   Brody Lee, Dani’s business partner, brought a vibrant energy to the room. I did leave mid afternoon on day one due to commitments at home, but I plan to check out both the talks I attended and those that I missed at my own pace as they get put online for attendees to watch after the event.  The lunch break was the perfect length. There were several lunch options available which included hot dogs and pizza.  I bought a hot dog which was really tasty. The highlight of day one for me was getting to meet Lisa Johnson in person having done one of her courses last year.

Evening of day one

Whilst I did not attend the bingo event on the evening of 11^th March 2026, I got the impression from other attendees that it was so much fun.

Day two at the event

I arrived earlier on the morning of day two and took some time to relax with a drink and snack which I purchased at the venue.  I spent a lot of day two sat in the arena listening to speaker talks.  Once again, Dani’s singing and dancers were phenomenal, and Brody Lee brought a vibrant energy to the venue.  As on day one, I found Dani’s talks so informative and easy to understand.  I enjoyed all of the speaker talks I attended.
One speaker talk which moved me so much was that of Zareen Roohi Ahmed, PhD.  Zareen said, “When something is born out of love, it grows.” I agree so much with this.  Part of Zareen’s work heading up The Halimah Trust, which was set up in memory of Zareen’s daughter, has been building a school and college in Pakistan.  Zareen has done a lot of work to tackle period poverty.  www.periodpoverty.uk has donated 6.5 million menstrual products to women in crisis across the world. Zareen’s Period Angels App’s mission is to eliminate period poverty in the UK by 2027.

I enjoyed Elisabeth Carley-Leonard’s speaker talk. Elisabeth is the founder of Vibes & Visibility Agency.  Elisabeth was great when put on the spot to come up ideas for 12 social media posts. Elisabeth is clearly very talented as well as friendly, down to earth and approachable.

I had a lovely chat with Matt Hall, founder of Success School, which I was delighted about as Matt is someone who I have always heard such wonderful things about. I had a delicious hot dog again for lunch on day two of the event and then I left not long after lunch on day two due to commitments at home.

One talk I was sad to miss was that of Lea Turner, founder of The Holt. It seems that Lea and her adorable cutie of a dog, Bronson, were quite the duo. Lea’s membership looks a wonderful thing to be a part of.

The Flight Squad

Every single person in the team who I came across was so approachable and helpful. They are an absolute credit to Dani.

Exhibitors

Some of the exhibitors which I visited were:

• Spicy Brain Collective – Steph, the founder is one of the kindest, most supportive women in business I have ever met.
• Lisa Johnson – Lisa is so down to earth and relatable and impact and giving is clearly something so important in Lisa’s life as a business owner.
• The Hook Book – Sam Johnson, Lisa Johnson’s husband. is really lovely and really talented.
• Zareen Roohi | Works – Inspirational and is making such a difference to others.
• Loqui – This looks like something that could be so useful to business owners.
• The Flip Academy – Those on the stand were absolutely lovely and so helpful.
• Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce – Those on the stand were really helpful.
• Masters Of Influence Academy (Nick Stabb) – Nick is lovely and so knowledgeable.
• Ilaria Sambi – Such a lovely approachable person.
• Autm.ai – Those on the stand were really helpful when answering my questions.

You can find out more about any of the exhibitors by visiting their website.

Event sponsor

The event sponsor was Higher Level. You can check out their website here.

IATQB Merchandise

There was a lovely range of merchandise available at reasonable prices.  Any merchandise sold helps support The Fly Anyway Foundation as all profits from the merchandise go to The Fly Anyway Foundation which Dani founded back in 2020 to help domestic abuse survivors to start and grow businesses. You can find about more about the foundation’s work here.

Inclusivity

I did also want to mention how inclusive the event was.  So much thought and effort had clearly gone into this.

Working with Dani

If you are interested in working with Dani, then I recommend having a look at the IATQB website here.

Would I recommend The Big Festoon to others?

I would wholeheartedly recommend The Big Festoon to others. It was so much fun and really well organised. I came away with new connections, so much knowledge and a renewed belief in what can be possible. I hope to attend next year if circumstances allow.

The IAQTB Hive

I did want to take a moment to mention how lonely, challenging and overwhelming running a business can be at times. The community that Dani has built is so supportive.

Ticket price information:

Tickets to The Big Festoon XL 2026 cost from £120.00 including VAT.

The Big Festoon XL 2027 Earlybird tickets are now available for sale:

VIP: Start at £315.00 including VAT

Gold: Start at £195.00 including VAT

Stalls: Start at £120.00 including VAT

Rating: 5/5 one of the easiest 5/5’s that I have ever given and I would give it more if I could

For more information and to book tickets please visit www.thebigfestoon.co.uk.