News

18 Mar 2014

Årsmötet 2014

The European Capital of Culture Umeå2014 is hosting Swedish Music Festivals conference and annual meeting 10-12 april. Not only is Umeå the northernmost capital of culture ever, but Norrlandsoperan also celebrates 40 years! It's alltogether a great UmeFest we going to! We meet on 10 april for food and mingle, spend the whole day on april 11 in a conference with Europe at the Centre: European study of festivals and European capitals ocf culture, and end with the annual meeting 12 April! And then not to forget: jazz! 12 Points Festival, every night!

18 Mar 2014

10% is not enough

Yesterday, Swedish Television News published that the call for increased state funding of the independent music scene continues. In an interview, following the call named A musical life for all!, Swedish minister for Culture, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, says that 10 percent of the state's allocation to music will suffice to the free music community, despite the fact that professional organizers and groups outside the institutions reaches half of the music audience in Sweden.

18 Mar 2014

NordicBaltic festivals met in Riga

The fifth meeting of Nordic and Baltic Festivals took place in the European Capital of Culture Riga 2014, supported by the Nordic Culture Fund. Swedish Music Festivals and NordicBaltic Festival Platform organised a seminar 4 March on FESTudy, the European study on festivals, and attended the 2nd Classic NordicBaltic, 5-6 March. All participants were invited to attend the 20th anniversary of the Great Latvian Award on 4 March.

18 Mar 2014

Peter Eriksson reelected

Peter Eriksson, President of Swedish Music Festivals, was reelected on the board of the European Festivals Association on 28 February 2014 during the General Assembly of EFA in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina The GA was hosted by the International Festival Sarajevo Winter who celebrated its 30th anniversary.

21 Feb 2014

Is Sweden about to get a Festival Policy?

On  29 January the Swedish National Council for Cultural Affairs allocated 28 million to 67 musical organisations. A total of 19 music festivals receives support in 2014. That is 6 more than last year. The Arts Council points out that they " put emphasis on festivals of national interest, both to reach a wider audience in Sweden and as a meeting place for the professional music scene", and use music festivals as headline in their press release. That is hardly a pronounced festival policy, but clearly a few steps in the right direction.

5 Feb 2014

Festival leaders are awarded a Royal Medal

The Royal Medal Litteris et Artibus is awarded for outstanding artistic achievements in music, theatre, and literature. This year the musicians Person Anna Larsson, opera singer, and Staffan Mårtensson, clarinetist  -  with actors Ingela Olsson and Thomas von Brömssen - recieved the Medal for achievement in the performing arts. Both are also music festival organizers; Pers Anna as  artistic director of Vattnäs Konsertlada in Mora and involved in Dalhalla Opera, Staffan as artistic director of Östergötland Music Festival.

17 Jan 2014

Music Festivals a changing world

They were more than 300 participants at the Festudy colloquium "Music festivals, a changing world", held in the Eurometropolis Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai on November 19-21. The international conference is the result of three years of research into nearly 400 international music festivals focusing on all music genres ranging from jazz to world music, Pop Rock, art music, contemporary music, etc.

16 Jan 2014

The festival year 2013

For the media the year began in May with headings such as "death of festivals" when the rock/pop festival Peace & Love went bankrupt and the year ended when FKP Scorpio, after a half try in Sigtuna, closed the Hultsfred Festival. In this simplistic picture one would think that Sweden had only two festivals. Instead we let Dagens Nyheters Martin Nyström say something about growing festival landscape in Sweden; about a wonderful fresh start in Dalhalla Opera, a number of Chamber music festivals along the West Coast and lots of contemporary Swedish music at festivals.

15 Jan 2014

Save Dalhalla Opera

Prior to the new start of Dalhalla Opera one newspaper wrote about the many conflicts that had struck this outdoor opera stage in the recent years. Göran Eliasson, artistic director of the Dalhalla Opera, said: - " something happens with the Opera when it is forced away from the red velvet and meets nature in the form of wind, rain and the evening sun. Suddenly, the Opera speak to us with greater seriousness and vigor; naked, rougher and with greater authenticity, ". The 2013 performance became a success. But then what should not happen, happened ...