The increasingly popular Aldrei For Eg Sudur (literally: ‘Never Went I South’) music festival in Isafjordur will take place this year as planned, BB.is reports. The two day indoor festival in the remote Westfjords of Iceland takes place over Easter weekend, and 2009 will be its sixth outing.
This year Isafjordur town council and the Westfjords Culture Committee have pledged financial support to the event to ensure it can go ahead.
“We don’t mind telling you it was a close call, as the first thing to go in such recessions is the indulgence of having concerts out in the countryside,” Gudmundur M. Kristjansson, one of the festival organisers told BB.is. He said the public money being invested this year has saved the festival.
The Aldrei For Eg Sudur organising committee met between Christmas and New Year to discuss the situation. Asked if the committee has any other accommodation in mind this year than the fjord-side Asgeirsbakki warehouse, where the festival has been held for the last two years, Kristjansson said that nothing has been decided yet.
“We have very much enjoyed being down on Asgeirsbakki but it hasn’t been confirmed yet whether that warehouse will be on offer this year. We expect to ask them first though,” Kristjansson said.
He says the festival has sustained itself over the last years. “We are not looking forward to having to pay any debts in the future. Our aim is always to break even. We’re not in this to make money,” he adds.
The festival is free to attend and artists are not paid for taking part. However, the festival sponsors do pay for artists’ accommodation and travel, and festival organisers make sure to show them how a real Westfjords party looks. No wonder so many of the country’s best acts turn up along with enthusiastic spectators from the world over in their thousands…
At last some good news!