The business of living for festivals: participation or spectacle

Women who turn festivals into a way of life: luxury or devotion?

Bob Sinclar has said he is no longer interested in DJing in Ibiza because clubbing is dead and the scene has become a spectacle for VIPs. His criticism points to a broader phenomenon: live music is no longer a two-way experience, but one of selfies and wildly expensive bottles. In between sits a group that the media portray sometimes with condescension and sometimes with awe: women who make festivals their way of life.

The profile of the festival woman

The antiestéticature in El Mundo that has put the phenomenon back on the table describes women who don't just attend a festival: they take part. They listen, dance, get emotional and become part of the collective ritual. That devotion contrasts with the passive spectator who consumes the event as a photograph. The idea of active participation versus contemplation also has an economic reading: those who take part build community, and that community is the industry's true asset.

The gap between participation and spectacle

There are two opposing readings. The first argues that this devotion fertilises the music industry and local tourism: people who return to the same destination every year, sustaining hospitality, transport and services. The second holds that the phenomenon is nothing more than aspirational consumption, the same old story, just on steroids. Festivals would be the new battleground of social distinction: those who go to take part versus those who go to be seen.

The question remains open. With no figures on how much these women spend or what return they generate, the tension persists between praise for their devotion and the suspicion that it is all now just a spectacle for VIPs.