Does the fundraiser at HitHit indicate the festival would introduce some admission fee in the future?
It is not our plan to just keep relying on sponsors’ support in the future; we are looking for establishing some degree of independence for United Islands. We are not considering the idea of introducing the traditional admission fee like other big festivals; however, the idea of the visitors contributing as per their financial possibilities seems fair to us. UI brings musical discoveries from all over the world, is held in attractive locations of Prague’s historic downtown. We are trying to bring life to the public area and we believe that the visitors of the festival do appreciate our effort and that they would be willing to participate in the realization of the festival, even with a symbolic amount. We are convinced that this philosophy will enable the festival to grow further in the future.
Is there a possibility of the festival ceasing to exist? Could the event face a fate similar to the Open Air festival which most likely saw its last edition last year after its leading partner/sponsor had left it?
Our festival clearly does not only need the HitHit campaign: its budget is many times higher and it can only be covered through successful, long-term cooperation with individual partners. However, we believe that our fans are willing to participate in the realization of the festival, even to a symbolic degree. We assume that people will appreciate our effort in trying and discover new names in the global music scene. We think that people understand our motives to preserve and develop the festival in the future. If we find, however, that people are not willing to participate even symbolically in a festival of this size, it will certainly reflect in the programming of the future editions.
The target of CZK 1.6 million is by far the highest amount to have ever been pursued at a HitHit fundraiser. You must be quite confident.
The amount does seem fantastic at first sight, but when it is projected to the number of visitors, the goal would be easily met if at least some of the visitors contributed with the starting amount of CZK 100. We believe the ten years of United Islands have given it credit high enough for people to support it even symbolically.
Is it true that the most attractive bits of the festival program will be available only to those who are willing to pay some admission?
It certainly does not mean that the program in the other stages would be lower in quality or uninteresting. The programming of each stage is planned in detail and certainly will not be boring. At any rate, the more expensive foreign artists will be offered to those visitors of the festival who are willing to provide even a small contribution for the program.
What parts exactly of the festival program will be covered by admission fee?
The fundraiser at HitHit is aimed at offering the festival also in Kinský Garden in its full form, with all announced headliners: all contributions go to the programming in that location. A symbolic admission fee will also be collected at Střelecký Island, yet for a different reason: you may have noticed that Střelecký Island has seen extensive refurbishment after the floods; a new visitor policy has been adopted there and our partner, the City of Prague, has demanded that we control the number of visitors so as to prevent damage to the location.
Tickets to paid locations will be offered in advance sales or will they only be distributed via HitHit?
If all tickets are not sold via HitHit, they will be offered in advance sales.
If the money raised exceeds the target amount, what will happen to those funds?
All of those funds will be used in the preparation of the next edition of the event; all contributors will be notified in the newsletter.
Kinský Garden is a public area which people use for their trips from the Strahov borough downtown. Will the public have an opportunity to pass through Kinský Garden during the festival?
Yes, the area of the festival will be indicated so as to offer the public problem-free passage from Strahov to Kinský Square.