Fact: Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is a franchise festival founded in the United States in 1991 by Perry Farrell. It is now organized in several countries and came to Sweden for the first time in 2019.
The venue for the Swedish event is Gärdet in Stockholm, and this year’s attractions include Travis Scott, Lizzo, Lil Nas X, Zara Larsson and Mumford & Sons. A total of around 70 artists perform.
Lollapalooza begins Thursday, June 29 and ends Saturday, July 1.
A larger food area, more surface area for the enclosed alcohol service – and more different ticket types. These are some of the news for this year’s Lollapalooza.
Last year, 70,000 people visited the festival. Festival manager Anna Sjölund does not want to comment on how large the audience is expected to be this year.
“We don’t give out numbers before, but we have had a steadily increasing number of visitors and it doesn’t look any worse this year,” she says.
The American hip-hop artist Travis Scott makes a long-awaited comeback after the performance at the first Swedish Lollapalooza festival in 2019.
“He was an incredible hit when he was here and he had a fantastic intensity,” says Anna Sjölund.
Also performing are Mumford & Sons, Zara Larsson, Kygo, The 1975 and Onerepublic – a total of around 70 artists are booked for the festival.
Most expensive ticket: SEK 28,000
New for this year is the ticket category Festivalpass plus, which gives access to a separate part of the area with food, bar and toilets as well as a “fast track” at the entrance. The ticket is a sort of middle ground between the regular festival pass and the even more expensive “Lolla lounge”.
As in previous years, there is the extra luxurious Platinum ticket. For almost 28,000 kroner, visitors get, among other things, a secured seat at the front of the concerts, transport to and from the gigs by golf cart and a separate area with food from the Aira restaurant, which recently received its second Michelin star.
According to Anna Sjölund, the current economic situation has not affected the sale of the most expensive tickets.
— It is not the target group that is the most sensitive. That ticket is quite sought after among international guests and it is very advantageous for them to travel to Sweden because of the weak krona, she says.
“More important than ever”
Lollapalooza also has its own area with activities for children, where they can learn to play the ukulele, take it easy, and watch the storytime “Among dragons and drag queens”. During the year, fairytale moments with drag queens have been under debate, organizers have received threats and politicians have wanted to shut down the events. Anna Sjölund believes that they have been showered with positive comments after booking.
— In this situation, it is more important than ever to show that everyone is welcome. We hope that there will be a nice feeling of community, solidarity and a lovely atmosphere, she says.
TT: What will be the biggest challenge before the festival starts?
— Getting done with everything, that is the biggest challenge, but in a positive sense. We will be working hard for the next 24 hours, but things are going smoothly. We think there will be a really lovely “Lolla atmosphere” this Thursday.
The festival runs between June 29 and July 1.
Travis Scott closes the first day of the festival. He also attended Lollapalooza 2019. File photo.