Festival director Tuomas Kallio believes that the effects of the corona pandemic will be reflected in rising ticket prices in the future.
15.8. 16:15 | Updated 15:44
Flow festival made a return to Helsinki Suvilahti after a two-year corona break.
The festival announced on Monday that it had set a visitor record. A total of 90,000 visitors visited the area during the three days, approximately 30,000 visitors per day. The area was also larger this year than before.
The event was sold out on all three days. In 2019, only Saturday was sold out. In 2018, the event was also sold out, but then the capacity of the festival was slightly smaller than it is now.
“We don’t know exactly how many of them with a three-day wristband actually showed up. For example, among the invited guests, there may be some who don’t come,” says the artistic director of the Flow festival Tuomas Kallio.
The festival does not publish its information on how much of the visitors were invited guests, artists who participated in the event, volunteers or employees.
Festival organizers are happy that the event was organized in the previous model after the exceptional circumstances.
According to Kallio, the Flow festival was lucky this year, for example, in that there were no big last-minute cancellations. All the main artists were able to perform according to previous plans.
“Even compared internationally, we got a really competitive program, and in the end we didn’t suffer from major cancellations. Today, more than ever, artists have to cancel their performances at the very last minute for one reason or another.”
Finnish festivals have suffered last minute this year cancellations and increased transport costs.
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Visitor survey this year is just starting, but in previous years, according to Kallio, a large number of Flow visitors have been from Helsinki or from nearby areas. According to Kallio, the average age of event visitors has typically been a little under 30 years.
According to Kallio, the corona pandemic is still visible at festivals both in changes in the visitor base and in the operations of the industry more broadly.
In previous years, about 10–15 percent of Flow festival guests have arrived from abroad. According to Kallio, the most international visitors have arrived from Russia and Britain. This year there were clearly fewer foreign festival guests.
Kallio thinks that international visitors were replaced this year by first-time domestic visitors who turned 18 during the corona pandemic.
Second According to Kallio, the change stemming from the corona pandemic is related to the fact that, for example, there is a shortage of technical expertise. Many people in the event industry changed fields during the pandemic, says Kallio. According to him, the general rise in price levels and the change in the industry affect festivals from many directions.
“Exceptional situations in availability affect prices. When resources and factors are scarce, prices start to rise. This will certainly be reflected in festival ticket prices across the board,” says Kallio.
During the Flow festival, strange things related to production difficulties came to light, such as the fact that no more traditional plywood was delivered to the festival area during the event weekend.
“It was simply the end.”
Flow festival has been organized in Helsinki’s Suvilahti industrial area since 2007. With these prospects, the festivals will have to be evacuated from the area from the fall of 2023 due to the construction work of the new event center.
According to the Flow festival announcement, the event will be held in Suvilahti next summer. Katariina Uusitupa, the festival’s production manager, told HS in Julythat the event will probably leave Suvilahti permanently due to future construction works.
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Correction August 17 at 3:44 p.m.: Artist Burna Boy’s name was previously incorrectly written as Burba Boy in the caption.
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