Together with our Media Partners Musikwoche and Höme we're making up for last week's cancelled Focus Session on "Festival Season 2021" already on Thursday, 29 April, starting at 4:00 pm on our digital conference platform.

People who already have access to the digital conference platform can participate in the Focus Session as well as watch past digital events in the media library as video-on-demand. Otherwise, access can be purchased here for €5.00 (plus fees).

Among others, the following speakers will join the Focus Session:

Vanessa Cutraro (Buback), Brigitte Fuss (Megaforce), Timo Kumpf (Maifeld Derby), Günter Linnartz (Budde Talent Agency), Marie-Christine Scheffold (Selective Artists), Wolfgang Schmidt (State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance), Lars-Oliver Vogt (Live Nation), and more to be announced soon.

The Focus Session will be hosted by Steve Blame and Isabel Roudsarabi and will be held in German language.

The program consists of the following panels:

04:00 pm: Restart Festivals International!
What is the situation of festivals internationally? Where can festivals take place under which circumstances?

04:10 pm: Restart of the international Festival Booking
Which artists are available in which territories? How do agents plan for the international festival summer of '21?

04:25 pm: Restart Festivals Germany?
Where do festivals in Germany take place under which conditions and where not - what are the chances for a real festival season?

04:30 pm: Hardware for the secure festival
What concepts are there for a Corona-compliant implementation of open-air festivals and what helping services does the market offer?

04:45 pm: Software for the secure festival
What digital tools are available, especially for contact tracking, and how do they contribute to a Corona-compliant implementation of open airs?

04:55 pm: What's left of summer - festivals between hoping and planning
The hope for a festival summer is carried mainly by the small and medium-sized festivals. Is the hope justified and how do the small big ones plan?

05:25 pm: Sponsoring - what is still possible?
Sponsorship is one of the mainstays of any festival. Some brands have left the sector during the crisis. So to what extent does sponsorship still carry the day this year and in the future?

05:40 pm: Accidentally headliner
The Corona crisis, in which international touring is lying fallow, calls for particularly creative booking. This brings opportunities and risks at the same time.

06:10 pm: Update Festival Funding
What festival funding programs are currently in place?

06:20 pm: Perspectives for festivals
What are the prospects for open-air festivals in Germany in summer 21 and beyond? Some of the major festivals have already pulled the ripcord, while many others, especially small and medium-sized festivals, are working very concretely on staging their events. But they all have one thing in common: they need the support of the public sector to dare to restart or to make it to the next season. Are the industry and politics on the right track to ensure that the festival scene in Germany remains as strong and colorful as we love it?