Music festivals, the new sustainable cities

The music festivals Summer festivals have ceased to be mere concerts with thousands of people gathered around a stage and have become sustainable cities with up to 300,000 attendees, a space that has a environmental impact less and less thanks to the initiatives of sponsors and increasingly ‘eco-friendly’ regulations.

“In the end, what the festivals achieve is to create a kind of small city, an ephemeral city for a few days in which it has to make all the basic needs available to thousands of people to promote sustainable development.“, highlighted in an interview with EFE Paula Ráez, culture and sustainability consultant for the Spanish Association of Music Festivals and Gabeiras & Asociados.

In 2023, nearly a thousand festivals were held in Spain in a business that generated almost 580 million euros, according to data from the Live Music Yearbook. A sector in which one of the main objectives is to reduce its impact and comply, among others, with the commitments made in the UN 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.

A challenge that already translates into significant improvements such as a 75% decrease in the use of plastics compared to 2022 or a reduction in average emissions per person per day, according to the study by the British Greener Future, one of the main certifiers. and sustainability advisors at festivals.

“Much progress has been made. More and more festivals are jumping on this bandwagon. We believe that the transformative nature of culture can directly contribute to promoting more sustainable, more responsible development of territories.“added Ráez.

But the musicians themselves are also joining in, with bands like Radiohead or Coldplay already demanding concerts of “neutral carbon” and in which there is responsible waste management.

In this sense, Coldplay managed to emit up to 47% less CO2 with its last world tour “Music Of the Spheres” compared to 2016-2017 thanks to the use of batteries and electric vehicles, reduction of plastics or the use in its scenario of sustainable materials such as bamboo, according to the report published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Companies and promoters, united

“Festivals are small cities where mobility, supply or food tests can be carried out“, Ignacio Asensi, responsible for sponsorship at Endesa, highlighted to EFE, a company that entered the world of music in 2023 to provide solutions in emissions, electric transportation, environmental awareness or the use of sustainable materials.

In this way, last summer they managed to make the Cruïlla festival in Barcelona the first in Spain with a 100% renewable energy supply.

“Sustainability is something that is absolutely integrated into our business. Join the local environment and see the problems or needs they have. For example, now in Catalonia it would be very interesting to be able to do something about water, the correct use of water”, he assures.

Another key sector to minimize the footprint of festivals is drinks, which account for 60% of total sponsorship, with brands required to offer reusable materials and sustainable waste management.

“Everything that is done has a sustainability filter. We have to be very strict with these types of problems. In general there is a good culture among the attendees or in the coexistence of the festivals themselves with the city. It is a very positive impact”, adds the Content Manager of Vibra Mahou, David Pejenaute.

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