Festivals in the Barents Region: Exploring Festival‐stakeholder Cooperation

Abstract

The paper reports from a multiple case study investigating three music festivals located in the Barents region, namely the Festspel i Pite Älvdal (Piteå, Sweden), the Festspillene i Nord‐Norge (Harstad, Norway) and the Jutajaiset Folklorefestivaali (Rovaniemi, Finland). The aim of the reported study was to investigate how these festivals cooperated with actors in their surroundings. Furthermore, the purpose was to explore the study’s data through the perspectives of network and stakeholder theory. The data consisted of field notes from observations of 58 festival events; 10 in‐depth interviews with festival administrators and official representatives of the festivals’ host municipalities; and documentation. The data was analysed using meaning condensation and structuring displays. Through the theory‐related exploration of the study’s data, three themes emerged: first, the festivals cooperated with multiple stakeholders, who assumed multiple roles; second, the festivals and their stakeholders would sometimes enter into a state of symbiosis; and third, the festivals were seen to engage in long‐stretched, “loose” and glocal networks. The three themes appeared as interrelated and could all be understood as strategies, which the festivals employed in order to increase their sustainability. The findings could also be connected to a typology of festivals in the context of institutionalization.