When is a festival not a festival, and does it matter?
Defining a 'festival' is a slippery notion.
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Anything happening for a designated time period where people gather seems to be classed as a festival nowadays – there are festivals celebrating beer, oysters, tomatoes, plants, flowers, cycling, fire, wildlife, history, ideas, mountains, walking, hot air balloons, gaming, football, even fan festivals around major sporting events, the list goes on…Programme seasons in venues turn into festivals, one-day, one-off events turn into festivals…Universities now regularly programme festivals to encourage public engagement with their research outcomes…Even commercial developers are commissioning festival producers to create new festivals to launch new ‘public’ spaces, though how ‘public’ some of those privately owned spaces really are is debatable.
Far be it for me to attempt to define what a ‘festival’ is or isn’t; I’m just keen to explore the myriad types of predominantly arts-led and film festivals that exist and are continually popping up in our calendars and why they have such an enduring appeal for audiences.
Gossip performing at Manchester International Festival 2007, Photo: Joel Chester Fildes
Many, many years ago, I attended a seminar at Edinburgh International Festival by the renowned historian Simon Schama who explored the notion of festivals, their origins in religious celebrations and folklore. Sadly, I can find no trace of it online and therefore my memory is a tad sketchy, but what stayed with me is that human desire for people to gather together to share a communal experience. This state of being is termed by academics as ‘collective effervescence’, originally coined by social scientist Émile Durkheim, back in 1912 – in short, an event that excites individuals and unifies the group.[1] And that desire for collective effervescence has never gone away as evidenced by the surge in new festivals in recent years, especially outdoors. However, lest we forget, centuries ago people did gather together to watch public floggings, beheadings and hangings…
So, why do so many cities want to be recognised globally as international festival cities? When you think of festival cities, it’s likely that some of these will immediately spring to mind - Edinburgh, Venice, Cannes, Austin, Adelaide – though they are often dominated by one artform/festival, e.g. performing arts, visual arts, film, music. When audiences talk of going to the Edinburgh Festival, what they usually mean is that they’re attending the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, even though the city hosts eight major festivals during the summer months. Or increasingly now, the term festival for music lovers, simply means a commercial, usually outdoor music festival or festival-styled event.
Even countries are now trying to promote themselves through festivals, usually to generate international tourist visits e.g. Morocco – promoting a few major festivals throughout the year. China’s Golden Weeks are national holidays that can stretch to seven or eight days incorporating existing festivals such as the Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day and Chinese New Year, though these were initially established to boost domestic tourism and allow long-distance family visits.
The influence of tourism promotion on town/city/county/country positioning as a festival destination is more than just garnering new visitors. It’s about repositioning a place as a cultural destination and is usually focused on targeting more ‘quality’ visitors - in other words, overnight stays, therefore higher spending visitors. This is particularly true for destinations keen to encourage out of season visits – for many rural places that can mean winter, hence the recent proliferation of light festivals, whereas for city centres it often means the summer months where you’ll see more outdoor family friendly offerings to drive footfall.
Photo: Abby Kilhano via Pexels
I spent many years working with destinations to create culture and tourism strategies. Time and again, places look to establish or ‘package’ festivals to deliver to multiple place agendas, from attracting visitors and changing perceptions, to generating economic impact and positive media coverage, as well as local engagement – a hefty wish list! But the one mantra that I and colleagues always reiterated was the need for authenticity. Unless a festival is rooted in its place and people, it’s operating on shaky ground. Most arts festivals rely on residents and day visitors for attendance; the holy grail of national and/or international high spending visitors represents a small, though admittedly potentially very important percentage of attenders.
Of course, it’s a completely different proposition for the commercial festivals that take place in a field that could be anywhere, where the sole purpose is to keep attenders spending money in the festival bubble. Although some of these festivals are looking to their surroundings to make connections as they focus on engagement and sustainability, if not place relevance. For example, Latitude festival is developing its approach to becoming net zero in innovative and ambitious ways.
And coming full circle, many of those religious and culturally specific ceremonies that originated the notion of festivals have become tourist attractions in their own right e.g. Spanish Catholic Holy Day or Holy Week processions, Diwali light festivals, Chinese New Year, Melas and Caribbean Carnivals.
Photo: Nandu Menon via Unsplash
UK Festival News
Firstly, news from my home city of Manchester which has been chosen to host the annual festival Japan Week in 2025 following a cultural trade mission to Japan last year. Quarantine will take their show 12 Last Songs to Reykjavick International Arts Festival in June. And contemporary indoor music festival RADAR is the first festival to donate to the Pipeline Investment Fund supporting grassroots music venues.
Milton Keynes International Festival has won the ‘Most Remarkable Festival’ for the second time.
The world’s biggest classical music festival, the BBC Proms has received record sales but audiences have encountered problems booking tickets.
Highlights of the upcoming programme at Greenwich & Docklands International Festival have been unveiled.
Preston’s Lancashire Encounter Festival has been awarded £96k Arts Council England funding to expand this year’s festival.
Cheltenham Paint Festival launches a fundraising campaign after funding rejection.
I fear that festival cancellations may be a monthly news item, this time it’s El Dorado festival and Encounters Short Film Festival.
However, new festivals keep springing up, musician Yungblud has set up his own festival - bludfest.
Austin’s SXSW comes to London for the first time.
Bands are boycotting The Great Escape festival in Brighton due to its festival sponsor’s investment in companies supplying arms to Israel.
Festivals recruiting new roles include Canterbury Festival who are looking for a new Festival Director and Chief Executive, Festivals Edinburgh are looking for a new Director, and hurry if you’re interested in running Hull’s Freedom Festival as the deadline closes today (31st May).
Actor Adrian Dunbar has curated Liverpool’s Samuel Beckett festival this year, currently running till 2nd June. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey, can we just move this thing along before it drives us all round the bloody bend?” Sorry, not sorry, I couldn’t resist a Line of Duty quote.
The British Council is offering grants for UK and international Biennales and Festivals to present work by international designers.
International Festival News
The world’s first queer art biennial has just launched in the USA – Mighty Real/Queer Detroit running through till 30th June.
The 36th Bienal de São Paulo has announced its curatorial team.
Hoor Al Qasimi, currently the president and director of the Sharjah Art Foundation will be the Artistic Director of the 2026 Biennale of Sydney.
Still in Sydney, Kate Dundas takes over as the new Chair of Sydney Festival as the festival launches a global recruitment drive for a new Director.
Barry Diller, the financier behind Little Island Park in New York is backing a new four-month annual performing arts festival to the tune of $100m over the next two decades, and it will be curated by Producing Artistic Director Zack Winokur.
The theme for next year’s Venice Architecture Biennale has just been announced – ‘Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.’
The Dak’Art – Biennale de l’Art Africain Contemporain in Senegal, due to open on the 16th May was postponed at the last minute due the ‘the national and international context, and the desire for the new authorities in the sector to organize the Biennale under optimal conditions.’ It’s been rescheduled for 7th November – 2nd December 2024.
Another protest by artists over a sponsor’s connections to Israel, this time its exhibitors at Toronto’s Contact Photography Festival in protest at a sponsor with reported ties to an Israeli-based military tech company.
Pope Francis visited the Vatican’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale, and stated: ‘The world needs artists.’ If only we heard all politicians saying this publicly too…
Artist Hsiao-Chi Tsai, Bury Art Museum, Asia Triennial Manchester 2014, Photo: Joel Chester Fildes
Festival Highlights
It’s almost impossible to choose highlights for June as it’s a bumper month for festivals taking place across the UK, but here’s a selection to whet your appetite.
UK
In Manchester alone, you’re spoiled for choice with Manchester Histories Festival, Universally Manchester – 200th anniversary celebrations from the University of Manchester and featuring the inaugural It Started with a Seed International Storytelling Festival, Manchester Day – the city’s free outdoor festival for families, programmed and produced by Walk the Plank on behalf of Manchester City Council, Horizons Festival from Community Arts North West at HOME presenting international artists who have made the city their home through migration, Green Island Festival showcasing underground, underrepresented and emerging artists plus local street food in Hulme Community Garden Centre and the historic Niamos Centre, Re:Discover Festival celebrating African and Caribbean heritage at Bridgewater Hall, Festival of Korean Dance at The Lowry, Frivolous Fields one day family festival of folk culture at Platt Fields Market Garden, and the Festival of Libraries with events across Greater Manchester.
Nearby you can get hands on with making at MediaCityUK at We Invented the Weekend and Wirral Makefest. There’s Lymm Festival, Festival Oldham celebrating the town’s 175th anniversary, Pendle Festival of Culture, and Ashton under-Lyne will host its first ever street arts festival. And in my mum’s home town of Macclesfield there’s 1261 Festival and Parade named for the town’s charter year.
Film festivals this month include the UK’s largest documentary film festival Sheffield Docfest, and Silents by the Sea in Morecambe.
Scarborough Fair brings the Scarborough Fringe and its sister festival Scarborough Art.
Literature festivals in Bradford and its neighbour Leeds, and in London there’s the Jaipur Literature Festival at the British Library. The Last Word Festival at London’s Roundhouse combines spoken word, conversations, music, film and workshops. You can experience more discussions and debates at York Festival of Ideas and Cheltenham Science Festival.
Plenty of classical music to enjoy at the Nevill Holt Festival in Leicestershire, Sedburgh Music Festival in Cumbria, and free African music at Africa Oyé (clue in the title!) in Liverpool’s Sefton Park. For opera, jazz, dance and theatre, have a look at the Grange Festival in Hampshire.
If you’re up for something a little different, you could try Voidspace Live from Theatre Deli, a one-day festival of grassroots interactive arts in London. Also in the capital is the National Theatre Connections Festival championing young people, the Next Generation Festival from the Rambert School at the Royal Opera House showcasing emerging talent, and there’s more dance with Fest en Fest dance festival, and the Flamenco Festival at Sadler’s Wells. The one-day Daytimers Festival for families is celebrating South Asian culture in the Horniman Gardens. For classical to cutting edge new music, you could try Spitalfields Music Festival, or explore the Southbank’s Meltdown, this year curated by the legendary Chaka, Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan. For museums fans, head to South Kensington for The Great Exhibition Road Festival.
If architecture and design are more your thing, then check out Liverpool or London’s architecture festivals, or Birmingham’s Design Festival.
Scotland plays host to contemporary visual arts festival Glasgow International, and street art at Nuart in Aberdeen. Further afield is the East Neuk Festival on the East coast of Fife and there’s St Magnus International Festival in Orkney (one for my friend Ann who lives there!).
And finally, from the most easterly place in the UK on the edge of the North Sea where the morning sun arrives first, comes First Light festival. That’s Lowestoft in case you were wondering.
International
The world’s largest professional Romani festival, the International Romani Festival kicks off in Prague. Loving the banner on the website proclaiming ‘HATE FREE’.
An impressive line-up of work at this year’s Holland Festival and for new technology fans, there’s the AI Film Fest in Amsterdam.
Robert de Niro’s Tribeca Film Festival returns in New York. This year they’re celebrating the founder’s 80th birthday with De Niro Con.
RISING festival of new art, music and performance, described as a ‘beautiful, messy and illuminating expression of Melbourne’ takes over one of my favourite cities in Australia.
It’s Art Basel time in Germany and look out for offshoots from the main event such as the Art Basel Social Club creating social spaces for art by artists.
Originally billed as the Festival in Great Irish Houses, the Dublin International Chamber Music Festival brings the world’s leading artists in chamber music to the capital.
I remember listening to the extraordinary Amal Clooney, interviewed by her father-in-law, journalist Nick Clooney and introduced by Canadian TV presenter and First Lady Sophie Grégoire Trudeau at the Luminato Festival in Toronto, Canada a few years back. A festival with true star wattage. And this year it kicks off on my birthday!
South Africa’s National Arts Festival celebrates its 50th anniversary with over 200 events.
For one day only, eight museums along New York’s famous Museum Mile open for free with activities for all the family.
LGBTQ+ Pride takes over New York and San Francisco.
Jazz and blues galore in the USA and Canada at the Chicago Blues Festival and Vancouver International Jazz Fest, and Morocco’s Jazzablanca in yes, you guessed it - Casablanca.
Also in Morocco, this time in Rabat is the Mawazine Festival presenting Arabian, African and international music. Last year’s festival welcomed 2.5m people.
Egypt’s five-day Sphinx Festival is a showcase for Egypt’s ancient past taking place in El Gouna.
For theatre lovers, there’s the Venice Theatre Biennial in Italy and Bard on the Beach in Vancouver, Canada.
And last but not least the Paris Cultural Olympiad has started. I’ll be featuring this in a future newsletter in more detail.
Huge thank you to my dear friend and wonderful photographer Joel Chester Fildes for allowing me to use some of his images.
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See you next month for more festival news, stories, and insights.
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[1] ‘Collective effervescence’, Émile Durkhem, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://iep.utm.edu/emile-durkheim/
I love the ‘collective effervescence’