The summer of 2009 As far as Finnish festivals are concerned, the summer of 2009 was much like old times: the big picture remained fairly constant while the details were in flux. "Approximately 700 000 festival tickets were sold last year, and my understanding is that this year's figures are very close to that. This is the big picture: there are significant changes in how individual festivals succeeded compared to last year, but this has always been the case." This statement by Kai Amberla, the executive director of Finland Festivals, can be read as an indication that the current recession hasn't hit culture very hard. But this is nothing new, as Amberla himself says. "It has been noted before that in times of recession, culture suffers much less than many other areas. People consider cultural experiences so crucial to their well-being that it's not the first place where they save money." But since the precarious state of the economy as a whole will undoubtedly affect cultural institutions, Amberla stresses that right now is the best opportunity for any big corporation to brand itself as a genuine supporter of culture. More variety The summer of 2009 saw many famous artists visit Finland, the most famous of them being Madonna. It was telling, however, that these artists did not appear at Finnish festivals. This phenomenon, while not new, was clearer than ever before. Promoter Juhani Merimaa explains: "The biggest artists get paid so well for the concerts they do on their own that festivals really can't compete. Only places like Roskilde can." It was also notable that Finland's festivals were mainly populated by Finnish artists. But according to Merimaa, this is not the whole story. "There are several new midsize festivals in Finland, and they tend to favour local artists. The bigger ones still feature international names as well", he says. The Finnish artists at our festivals are not always the ones you'd expect. Two good examples of this are Vesa-Matti Loiri and Paula Koivuniemi, two names of the old school whose newfound popularity among younger listeners is a definite fact. Perhaps this will in time lead to a general widening of the concept of "rock festival". A similar phenomenon has already been seen at jazz festivals, which currently feature many kinds of music. What about next year? According to Juhani Merimaa, the number of festivals is on the increase across Europe. "We are going to see more festivals like Flow - that is, festivals that cater to a particular audience. In Finland, these can probably survive only in and near Helsinki", he says. He also points out that rock festivals are more vulnerable to economic change than jazz or classical music, because they are not similarly supported by the society. "If young people have less money to spend, that will affect rock festivals", he says. Kai Amberla is also cautious in his prediction. "We can definitely use a cliche and say that these are interesting times. Sponsorship negotiations are about to begin at various levels, and should sponsorship decrease, it will definitely affect the future of Finnish festivals. Approximately 12 per cent of their income is currently sponsored money, so it is not an insignificant sum", he says. Text: Tero Valkonen Photo: Pekka Kuusisto, Janne Rättyä and Eeva Mäenluoma performed in the Ainola forest at Our Festival in July. The installation in the woods was designed and executed by Aamu Song and Johan Olin. (Photo: Maarit Kytöharju)