HULTSFRED, Sweden (VIP-NEWS) — Sweden’s Hultsfred Festival suffered another huge loss this year and as a consequence the whole staff of 20 were sacked last week. The day after the news broke in the Swedish media, Festival Manager Per Alexandersson decided to stand down.
Despite these drastic measures organizers Rock Party expect to go ahead with the festival in 2010 although it is likely to be a scaled down version.
Lennart Beijer, Chairman of the board at Rock Party, claims that the financial crisis and competition from City Festivals have been contributory factors to this year’s loss.
Per Alexandersson told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that the initial artist budget was set in the Autumn 2008 but this became too heavy when the Swedish kroner collapsed and as a result of this the cost of foreign artists went through the roof.
The festival has struggled financially for several years, most notably in 2007 when Festival Manager JP Bordahl had to stand down but even last year’s edition suffered a loss. This year Per Alexandersson took over and the festival was moved from June to July and boasted an impressive line up including acts such as The Killers, Kings of Leon, Franz Ferdinand and Regina Spektor.
Hultsfred Festival was arranged for the first time in 1986 and was Sweden’s biggest rock festival for many years. However in recent years other festivals such as Peace & Love and Sweden Rock Festival have pulled bigger audiences.
