WINTER | COVER FEATURE
to remain true to its ethos, he does look around for
inspiration. “What I take from others festivals is how
to put people together creatively. The award winners at
Sundance serve food to the other nominees, and we have
a pancake breakfast that facilitates that.
“I’ve learned that to be successful you mustn’t fear
saying ‘no’. This attitude helps make us pure in what we
do. Everyone wants you to change all the time, but we
focus on showing the best films, and providing visitors
with the best time.”
to enjoy the music. You can’t hit people over the head too
much with messaging that you alienate them. We have
the likes of Wateraid, Greenpeace and Oxfam all around,
but not too high in the mix. It’s about knowing you can
just enjoy yourself and not be sold stuff, or marketed to.
We have no branding, and no corporate logos. It’s a haven
from what’s going on around people.”
Meanwhile, the festival’s changing demographics and
extensive television coverage has widened the reach.
“Back in the 90s the age demographic was quite tight,
but now we have not only the 18-25 year olds, but also
many 60-85 year olds. We have 2.4m people registered
for our event, and 22m people watching on television
and that feeds the interest. Festivals have become what
people want as adults, which is different than, say,
Woodstock. Festivals have reached the wider culture.”
GLASTONBURY
The eyes of the world descend on a little spot called
Pilton every June, but Glastonbury Festival has been
keen to use its sway as a force for change from the
outset, both locally and worldwide.
Robert Richards, commercial director, Glastonbury
Festival works closely with founder Michael Eavis. He
started as a staffer on an information point at the festival
in the early 90s and, for someone who wasn’t particularly
into music and had a phobia of crowds it was “quite a
shock”. However, its testament to the festival’s power,
that Richards has been continually moved by the event’s
wide-reaching impact.
“I used to hide in a lodge on my downtime at the
festival, and once I was sat next to an electrician who
told me he’d spontaneously decided to sell his house and
move to India. After that, I thought to myself: there’s
something uniquely special happening here. This is a
five-day event, and it’s an immersive experience that
changes peoples’ lives. We’ve had cultural effects, but it’s
the individual ones that stand out to me.”
Often, its Glastonbury’s content that inspires its
action. “We banned plastic bottles this year. It was
a campaign that got kicked off because Sir David
Attenborough spoke at our event. We make money, but
we give away around £3m every year, and these activities
permeate the event.”
Despite this, Glastonbury is careful not to overly push
its message. “It’s ultimately an event for people who want
38
BURNING MAN
" Attendees
often change
their lives,
their jobs,
they become
artists, and it’s
spreading
Held in late Summer annually in the western United
States at Black Rock City, a temporary city erected in the
Black Rock Desert of northwest Nevada, approximately
100 miles (160 km) north-northeast of Reno, Burning
Man is an event and a year-round cultural movement
generated by a global community of participants.
First held in 1986, the event culminates in a symbolic
ritual burning of a large wooden effigy ("The Man"),
which – despite echoing The Wicker Man – the organisers
claim to have been unaware of this film at the event’s
inception.
Michael Mikel a.k.a. ‘Danger Ranger’, founding board
member, Burning Man Project outlined the festival’s
mission: “We are not for profit and we want to do social
good and make people see the world from a different
viewpoint. We are the largest leave no trace event in
the world. And the federal government has adopted our
standards for clean up.
“It’s an event that does transform people. Attendees
often change their lives, their jobs, they become artists,
and it’s spreading. There’s Burning Man regional events
in nearly every state now, and these types of events are
occurring in more than 34 countries around the world.”
Providing a respite from commercialism is another
MO of Burning Man. Mikel says: “We live in a consumer
culture and that divides us. Burning Man sees people
walk down the streets of Black Rock City and you look
people in the eye. There’s nothing for sale except ice and
coffee – for survival. It’s non commercial and that brings
people together.
Despite this, Burning Man is no walk in the park. Its
searing temperatures and insistence on self-reliance
make for a challenging undertaking. “People have called