Festivals|Last summer, the number of visitors to Valkeakoski’s Työväki music event was especially affected by Coldplay’s four concerts.
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Organizing festivals in Finland has become more challenging due to financial difficulties.
The Työväen Music Event in Valkeakoski collects 20,000 euros to continue its activities.
Haapavesi Folk aims to collect 8,000 euros to overcome financial difficulties.
Rising costs and competition with large events make it difficult to organize festivals.
in Finland organizing festivals has become more and more challenging. At the moment, at least two traditional festivals, Työväe’s music event in Valkeakoski and Haapavesi Folk, collect money to ensure the continuation of their activities.
The Workers’ Music Festival has been organized in Valkeakoski for decades, and it is known for its versatile program. Over the years, almost all the most famous Finnish bands have performed at the festival.
Executive director of the festival Marianne Haapoja says that the losses of the previous two summers have driven the event into financial difficulties.
“First there was the pandemic of years, after which the next year it seemed to be going well. Then the downpour started, which reduced both ticket sales and the sales of the association’s own restaurant,” he lists.
Marianne Haapoja leads the Työväe music festival in Valkeakoski. Now the future of the event is foggy.
Now the future of the festival is being saved with a collection. The goal is to collect 20,000 euros by January. Haapoja mentions that the festival’s budget is around 800,000 euros, and sometimes it has gone over a million. Currently, the collection has generated fifteen thousand euros, and there are more than 90 days left.
How would 20,000 euros affect the festival’s finances?
“Well, quite a bit,” says Haapoja. “But it would be a wonderful thing to get anyway.”
For donations made via the Kulttuurilahja.fi website, the event receives an additional 20 percent from the People’s Cultural Foundation.
Second the festival seeking help is Haapavesi Folk, which is especially known for its folk music and multicultural repertoire. The festival has also run into financial difficulties, and its fundraising goal is 8,000 euros. So far, almost 3,000 euros in donations have been received, and there are fifty days left to collect.
The fundraising page explains that the rapid increase in costs made last summer’s festival unprofitable, and now the future is at stake.
“Let’s make sure together that Folks still play in the nightless night of Haapavesi”, the appeal of the non-profit association says.
Folk has played in Haapavedi since 1989. The picture is from 2016’s Syys-Folk.
Next by the summer, other festers may rely on the benevolence of the donors. HS Vision report according to last summer was very reasonable for many festivals, but the costs have increased significantly, especially in terms of freight and fees for American artists.
In the future, margins may narrow also due to the increase in value added tax. Ticket prices have already risen, which tests the pain threshold of customers.
More information on the matter is expected during the fall, as Finland Festivals is currently collecting information on the finances of festivals.
All in addition to the above, the organizer of a small festival is also haunted by risks that are impossible to prepare for. According to Haapoja of the Työväen Musiikkitäpätsät, last summer the number of visitors to the event was particularly affected by Coldplay’s four concerts.
The sold-out concerts gathered a total of more than 178,000 spectators at the Olympic Stadium. This is the biggest ticket sale of an individual artist or band’s visit to Finland.
“Coldplay had a huge audience at the same time as our event,” he says. “It couldn’t help but have an effect.”
The CEO estimates that there are currently too many events in Finland anyway. People’s purchasing behavior also seems to have changed due to the pandemic, becoming more cautious than before.
It creates a difficult equation for a non-profit association. It has employed around 80 people annually.
“I don’t want to complain, but I’m complaining now that no state aid has been received,” says Haapoja.
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