Sweden’s women only music festival gets the green light for next summer
"At music festivals, everyone should feel safe."
Sweden is officially set to host the world’s largest women-only music festival next summer after reaching its funding target of 500,000 kronor ($61,000).
Appropriately called Statement Festival, the “man-free” event was originally proposed by Swedish comedian Emma Knyckare in response to the recent surge of rapes and sexual assaults that have plagued the country’s biggest music festivals, Bråvalla and Putte I Parken.
Bråvalla has been marred by controversy ever since it launched in 2013. In 2016, five rapes and 12 sexual assaults were reported. The issues grew in 2017 when 23 sexual assaults and 4 rapes took place during the four day festival. The 2018 edition has been cancelled and subsequently replaced by Statement Festival.
With Knychare at the helm, the 10,000 capacity event allows for cis women, non-binary and trans women to attend and will look to create “a safe space for the people who want to attend a festival without feeling scared for their personal safety.”
Find out more via the Statement Festival Kickstarter.