The latest initiative: the Kite Festival, that was to take place in Oxford, is organizing a series of online debates to which everyone is invited. Garorock, Les Déferlantes and Love Supreme have also stepped up to the challenge!
While the Covid-19 pandemic is forcing millions of people worldwide to stay at home, and the future remains uncertain for many festivals and shows due to take place this summer, a whole host of initiatives are taking shape within Vivendi group, driven by a spirit of solidarity and the desire to provide entertainment and meaningful reflection
One example, the Kite Festival, an original new concept combining ideas and music, which was scheduled to hold its inaugural edition in June in Oxford (UK), has been postponed until next year. However, its organizers, U-Live (Vivendi Village), are determined to pursue their concept in a new way. In record time, in collaboration with their partners Tortoise Media and Neapolitan they launched a series of interactive talks streamed online with speakers that were scheduled for the festival this year: if festival-goers can’t come and listen to speakers, then the speakers will come to them!
Around a thousand enthusiasts joined in the first debate held on April 20, featuring the author, screenwriter and filmmaker Jon Ronson. The event took place online, of course, and everyone was invited to have their say (“a forum for civilized disagreement”). The debate explored whether our personality types determine how we respond to Covid-19.
Save the date: a second event is already scheduled for May 11. This time, the guest speaker is Bill Browder, best-selling author of Red Notice: How I Became Putin’s No.1 Enemy. Browder, who was the largest foreign investor in Russia until 2005, now exposes and fights against human rights violations in the country. James Harding, a former editor of The Times who went on to become Director of BBC News and is a co-founder of Tortoise, will lead the discussion alongside him
The Kite Digital ThinkIn sessions are by no means the only initiative taken by the organizers of Vivendi festivals in an effort to stay in touch with the public. In London, the electronic festival Junction 2 (U-Live) will go ahead as planned in June, via streaming, and will offer fans the chance to switch instantly between different performances – even better than reality! The Garorock and Les Déferlantes festivals (Olympia Production/Vivendi Village) are making available online some highlights from previous years. And the Love Supreme jazz festival (U-Live) is offering actual jam sessions known as Live Supreme via Instagram.
