Terraneo A Goer

Croatia’s cash-strapped Terraneo Festival is to go ahead Aug. 7-9 despite running up losses of euro 1 million in its first two years.

Nick Hobbs of Istanbul-based Charmenko, which has this year taken over the booking of the event’s international acts, says government papers may be correct in saying the festival made losses of that order but the event doesn’t owe any money to anyone.

“All the artists and suppliers from last year’s festival have been paid,” Hobbs told Pollstar, indicating that there’s subsequently been changes in the festival’s ownership.

A private equity company with five stakeholders – including local promoter Mate Skugor – now has the major interest.
Hobbs feels the festival’s earlier failings were due to spending too much on acts that didn’t really fit the market and an apparent reluctance to publicise the event outside of Croatia.

This year the tiny Balkan state on the Adriatic coast – with no reputation for having a festival market – originally had about a dozen festivals scheduled to happen this summer.

Burning Sea has been wiped out by changes in the VAT law, something that Croatia Week believed may have caused other festival promoters to shift their events abroad.

The English-language paper reported that Outlook Festival and Dimensions Music Festival, both of which take place annually in Pula, were on the verge of pulling out of Croatia if there were no changes to the VAT laws.

Cultural events such as festivals were exempt from charging VAT on their ticket prices, but recently the government imposed a rate of 25 percent VAT.

This was greeted with such a howl of protest that it’s subsequently been cut to 5 percent for this summer’s events.
The Terraneo lineup includes The Prodigy, My Bloody Valentine, Azealia Banks, Calexico, Icarus Down, Kawasaki 3p, and The Bots.

Croatia’s summer festival lineup also includes INmusic in Zagreb at the end of June, Hideout Festival, Tisno’s Garden Festival and Electric Elephant, Ultra Europe and Soundwave in July, Outlook at the end of August and Dimensions in September.