• It is difficult to be flexible and come up with solutions and mind frames to fit within the restrictions, but it is important to do a version of the festival during this time, for public engagement.

• When festivals do not count on ticketing, and target smaller audiences, the impact is felt less, but at the moment we don’t know how they will behave.

• There is a risk that audiences are too scared to attend and interact. At the moment, theatres are closed but shops are full, which makes one question how much art and culture is valued.

• There is a certain amount of uncertainty when waiting for answers from procrastinating partners.

• When programming, managers have to be more patient and flexibility was needed, because of quickly changing conditions and restrictions.

• Some decisions are made taken ‘in the dark’, without knowing the exact situation we will be facing on the day.

• Venue changes are being proposed by governments, councils and entities. These are bigger, rural and outdoor spaces, for more social distancing. The challenge is to make audiences want to attend there.

• Find venues that fit within the new health measurements is quite challenging but not impossible.

Having had more time to rethink, one realizes the importance of delegation. For example, have somebody to interact with different partners, throughout the year. Relationships need to maintain a relationship with artists, sponsors and communities. Assigning duties to your team, however small, is essential, especially when it comes to the sustainability and accumulative benefits of the message you are trying to convey with your festival.

The ability to be flexible while programming, thus accommodating to the current needs, is a skill that is quite beneficial to festivals. We can start showcasing these skills to policy makers and other governing entities. This is a result of stopping and listening to the needs of the communities around you, making you more relevant and essential as an artist and as a festival.

All the technological skills acquired, being more open to go online and having a reserve (contingency) to pay people working with you if something happens (a core fund that supports the people that work with you) have all been strategies that served many festival managers globally during this pandemic time. These skills have made us more robust during these taxing times.

Festivals had to have a more flexible identity – if you cannot be cultural, be social! We also need to know who we are very well (specificity of your product) so that then we are able to move with the needs of the communities around your festival.

We are addicted to do what we have always been doing. So, we need to also be doing what needs to be done. Capturing the contemporary real needs from the festival’s context and community.

The ability to be flexible while programming, thus accommodating to the current needs, is a skill that is quite beneficial to festivals. We can start showcasing these skills to policy makers and other governing entities. This is a result of stopping and listening to the needs of the communities around you, making you more relevant and essential as an artist and as a festival.

Rigorous training in the use of online platforms might serve artists and festival managers in the future: this infrastructure is well needed, especially if this is to happen again.

We are working more internationally, because we felt the need. We need to continue communicating with each other, with local and international collaborators to be stronger and prepared.

We need to sustain the feeling of solidarity and humility which came from reaching out to each other more, genuine interest, and directors and festival managers listening more to their audience.