– For the sake of the long-term sustainability of the festival, we probably have to scale down and make the festival smaller from next year.
This is the message from director and founder of the music festival Arctic Sounds Festival, Jacob Froberg.
– For the sake of the long-term sustainability of the festival, we probably have to scale down and make the festival smaller from next year.
This is the message from director and founder of the music festival Arctic Sounds Festival, Jacob Froberg.
The festival officially begins on April 2 and welcomes festival-goers to five days of music and cultural celebration in the country’s second largest city.
Although the organizers behind the festival are happy, running a festival on the coast is not worry-free. Since the new international airport has opened in Nuuk, the challenge has only gotten bigger, says Jacob Froberg.
– After the international airport moved from Kangerlussuaq to Nuuk, our costs for plane tickets have increased by 40 percent, he says.
When Sermitsiaq talks to the festival director a few weeks before the festival, Jacob Froberg guesses that they have spent around DKK 800,000 in total on plane tickets this year.
It has surprised us how much more expensive, and how much more difficult, travel has become
A significantly higher amount than what they had to get rid of in 2024 – before the new airport.
– On top of that, there are also a lot of artists and other guests who have bought trips themselves, adds Jacob Froberg.
In addition, it is also very often necessary for the festival’s artists and network guests to spend the night in Nuuk, which also costs money, he points out.
– We agree that there are many things that have become easier and cheaper down in Nuuk. It is great for Nuuk, but it is clearly the rest of us who pay the price for it.
The price increase came at the back of festival organizers
It was before last year’s festival that it dawned on Jacob Froberg and his co-organizers that the costs of air travel had skyrocketed.
– When we planned the festival in autumn 2024, we did not know that there would be all those increases, says Jacob Froberg.
So when the tickets had to be bought for the artists they had already booked, they got an unpleasant surprise that contributed to the festival ending up with a deficit of around DKK 200,000, the festival director says.
– We were privileged before, because of Sisimiut’s location in relation to Kangerlussuaq Airport. But it has surprised us how much more expensive, and how much more difficult, travel has become.
In addition, several guests and artists were also stranded after the festival last year; twenty people in Kangerlussuaq and 50 in Sisimiut, according to the organizers of the festival.
Someone was stranded for up to a week
– And it was because of the weather in Nuuk, says Jacob Froberg.
Are you worried about the future of your festival?
– We have been lucky enough to get some pretty good grants and funding this year. But we cannot increase the total travel budget for the festival by 40 percent in the long run, answers Jacob Froberg and continues:
– So either we have to scale back, or we have to find some way to get some fixed collaboration agreements that can reduce travel costs.
Ilulissat gives hope
The director is currently investigating various options that can remedy the situation and help save the festival. Among other things, it is an advantage that you can fly directly from Iqaluit and Reykjavik to Sisimiut, he says.
In addition, Arctic Sounds also has a collaboration with Katuaq in Nuuk, which makes it possible to arrange some extra concerts in the capital for the artists who travel via Nuuk. It can also help reduce overall travel costs.
But the greatest hope for Jacob Froberg and his colleagues is the new international airport in Ilulissat, which is scheduled to open in the autumn.
With an extra gate into and out of the country, it will hopefully allow for more flexibility in travel planning.
– It can be a bit of a puzzle to get it all to work with flights, says Jacob Froberg.
Until that door opens, Arctic Sounds must continue to bite the bullet – and expensive – apple.
– I really hope that it will help when Ilulissat Airport opens. But it’s impossible to know, says the festival director.
