Showing new techniques on festivals

Whether it Works or not; show people that it’s there!

Traditionally, at the European conference and showcase festival Eurosonic-Noorderslag, the status of the music industry is conducted. With the new trends within climate change in mind and the new techniques regarding this issue, a seminar was held on sustainability at festivals. Or in short; what can you do to make a festival less hazardous for the environment? And what techniques are available?

In the panel three European music festivals and the Dutch technology foundations STW. Host Jan Douwe Kroeske asked the representatives of the Norwegian Oya festival, the Rheinkulturfestival in Germany and the Lowlandsfestival in the Netherlands several regarding sustainability at their festivals. Wich problems occurred and which actions will they take?

As an representative of new techniques, technology foundation STW joined this panel of festival organisers. The objective of general manager Eppo Bruins is to inform festival visitors with a realistic and interesting mix of science and technique. With this information he wants to create awareness among the youngsters. Explaining the technique behind the technology is not a priority: “It doesn’t have to work, people have to grasp it, make sure that it’s visible”, says Bruins. As an example he tells us about a dance floor extracting energy from a moving crowd. ‘Standardtechnique’, he says. Lowlands manager Eric van Eerdenburg smiles and says: ‘Lets do it, Eppo’.

It’s different for the Rheinkulturfestival. This festival has a deposit system for drinking cups since 1992 and has a ‘green’ foundation solely by the location of the festival: “It’s in a big, central public park with lots of nature and where water is won for everyday use. So we had to deal with eco problems and issue’s from the beginning.”, explains Holger Jan Schmidt.

The Norwegian marketing manager of the Oya festival, Arnt-Olaf Anderssen, understands this like no other. “Our festival is small, young and takes place at a medieval park with ruins. The food is locally produced for 99 percent, we just can get the pepper”, he tells us proudly. “If the area is clean and you keep it clean, people will do the same.”. Van Eerdenburg cannot agree. “Festivalpeople in Holland are very dirty people”, he says. “On festivals in America people will take their waste with them until they find a garbage can. The Latitude-festival in England is also clean, while the Brittish are dirty too”, says van Eerdenburg. It’s apparently not about the number of garbage bins you provide, but more about awareness;

Festivals already try to be as green as the can: The Oya festival will start working with generators on hydropower and at the Rheinkulturfestival they will start driving around on green fuel. Lowlands will expand their clean-green camping’s from two to four so called ‘Green Ghetto’s.

“But there is only so much you can do”, like van Eerdenburg says, is correct. Bruins: : The conventional techniques are dirty but cheap. New sustainable techniques are too expensive or just not available on a larger scale. Governments could play a mayor role in the development of new laws or regulations making way for these new techniques which are already there.

“ Until then we can show the public what techniques are already here or what will be here in the near future. In this way we can make the youngsters more enthusiastic on the subject and create awareness.“, Eppo Bruins added.