The producers of the annual Iceland Airwaves music festival have had trouble funding the festival.
Thorsteinn Stephensen, the CEO of Hr. Destiny, the company which runs Airwaves, said last week, that due to decreasing funds and the low exchange rate of the Icelandic króna, the festival would probably be smaller this year.
The festival’s main sponsors, Reykjavík City Council and Icelandair met with Stephensen and discussed the situation. Icelandair and Reykjavík have not decided to increase their funding for the festival but are willing to aid Hr. Destiny to seek some more Funds.
“We are very happy with the increased Funding, but we must also get more Funding from other companies” Stephensen told Morgunbladid.
Thorbjörg Helga Vigfúsdóttir, Chairman of the Cultural and Travel Committee of Reykjavík City Council says the festival is very valuable for Reykjavík. “The magnitude of the festival has been increasing every year, so we are trying to figure out how to keep it going. We are very pleased with Iceland Airwaves and it is important to Reykjavík. Due to it’s small budget Reykjavík City cannot increase its support right now, but we are going to look for some other companies to support the festival.” Vigfúsdóttir told Morgunbladid.
The CEO of central Reykjavík, Jakob Frímann Magnússon is eager to support the festival.
“…it cannot happen that Iceland Airwaves will be put off. […] it has been growing over the years and is now one of the biggest labels for Icelandic music abroad and plays a big roll in promoting Icelandic music internationally,” Magnússon told Morgunbladid.
Source:
www.icelandreview.com
www.icelandairwaves.com