The Role and the Challenge of Festivals In a World That Never Stays Still

Friday 10 April at 13:1514:15 in Sirius

How do festivals thrive when the ground keeps shifting? This discussion explores the modern festival landscape — from building essential partnerships and navigating communication pitfalls to walking the programming tightrope between established headliners and emerging talent. How does an artist enter a booker's line of sight, and what does a sustainable business model actually look like when funding is uncertain and costs keep rising?

The panel also addresses the harder questions: how do you maintain environmental and equity standards, protect a festival's unique identity, and sustain community impact — at a time when production costs are higher than ever and the supply chain for sustainable solutions grows more expensive by the day?

Speakers:

  • Filip Koštálek, Artistic Director of Colours of Ostrava (CZ)
  • Katariina Uusitupa, CEO of Flow Festival (FI)
  • Lisa Branigan (Nasta), Director of Re-Play Music; Production Manager for Glastonbury's Green Futures Field (UK)
  • More speakers to be announced