It’s hard to predict the future, but some of us can try. For the festival industry, that comes in Future of Festivals.
The person behind this is Robert Stolt. Robert is the CEO of Future of Festivals, which welcomes over 8000 delegates, more than 350 exhibitors and 150-plus speakers to Berlin each year. He’s also Project Manager at the German festival Tag Am Meer Festival, an annual celebration of house, reggae and roots music held on the island of Rügen.
Future of Festivals is a coming together of figures from across the industry. It’s an event that welcomes businesses from across the spectrum, a one-stop shop where everyone can bond over everything from stage production to portaloos. “If you’re running a festival for the first time, Future of Festivals is a place where you can meet everyone that you need to make it work,“ says Robert.
The two-day event will feature dozens of panel talks and discussions that give insight on the ups and downs of the industry. It hosts stages curated by the under-30s which are designed to showcase the next generation of festival talent. It shares insight on how festivals can remain independent without relying on big money backers, or how AI could completely change the industry. In a broader sense, Future of Festivals is a platform for new ideas.
Here, we speak with Robert to gain his thoughts on the challenges and opportunities facing the industry going into 2026 and beyond.
Sustainability is still being overlooked
Sustainability is a hot topic in the festival industry. It’s no longer enough for a festival’s sustainability practices to begin and end with recycling stations alone. Festivals are innovating in many ways to make their green fields even greener, from offering vegetarian only catering to stages that run on renewable energy.
But enough isn’t being done, thinks Robert. “Sustainability in the industry is going a little backwards,“ he says. “It’s not that event managers don’t want to implement sustainable measures, but when production costs are so high they have to balance sustainable practices with not going bankrupt. When festivals have to consider everything from the music to safety regulations, often it’s sustainability that’s cut. It’s a real struggle.”
Experience is everything
It’s no longer good enough to adopt a ‘build it and they will come’ mentality to music festivals. A good line-up no longer guarantees a sell-out. It’s about providing a wealth of experiences beyond the music.
“Festivals are focusing on immersive, micro-moment formats that offer tailored experiences for each visitor, while wellness and comfort zones are expanding,” says Robert.
“Community is key,“ he adds. “Events are emphasising connection, co-creation, and the power of shared experiences to foster long-term loyalty.”
AI is here
While many people may still be dubious about the role AI will have in our collective future, Robert is keen to laud the potential possibilities that AI will offer the festival industry.
“For our festival, we receive around 500 pieces of music from musicians wanting to play. For other festivals it’s thousands,“ says Robert. “We’re a beachfront dance festival, so AI can help filter out genres that we don’t host.”
Robert believes AI will help in a myriad of other ways, too. He thinks AI will be able to assist in everything from managing a festival’s CO2 output to the way we discover emerging artists. “AI is the future,“ he says.
Ushering in a new era
It’s no secret that the music industry as a whole is fiercely competitive and suffers from an old boys mentality that means opportunities are increasingly rare for anyone trying to break in.
This is partly down to a growing list of festivals shutting their doors. “When we’re losing festivals, we’re also losing jobs in this way,” says Robert. But there’s also opportunity, and there are newer ways to enter the sector. “The industry will always need rigging crews, stage managers and builders,” says Robert. “But there’s a need for social media managers and marketing people. The opportunities are becoming much more diverse.”
Future of Festivals 2025 takes place at STATION Berlin on 27-28 November.
