In 2023, the festival „As Young as Vilnius“ attracted 73,000 visitors per day. Among them, about 13,000 were visitors from other cities (18%), and about 4,000 were foreigners (6%). According to Destinations International’s Event Impact Calculator, last year’s festival generated almost 2 million euros for the city.
Another major event that Aleksandravičienė mentions is the „Vilnius Pink Soup Fest“. According to „Go Vilnius“ data, this summer, 42,000 people visited the festival, 17% of whom were foreigners, generating economic benefits amounting to 1.2 million euros.
Big Names – The Secret of Success
Big names are the secret of financial success for any mass music events. As Aleksandravičienė points out, although the festival „As Young as Vilnius“ features both classical and pop music performers from Lithuania, it also invites some big stars each year. The festival’s line up, featuring some big names, attracts not only locals but also foreign guests, who tend to stay longer.
„Last year, we invited Bastille and Clean Bandit, and the year before that, British singer Lewis Capaldi performed. According to our estimations, this year’s (headlined by Albanian singer Rita Ora) festival would generate an economic return of 2.2 million euros for the city. The economic benefits strongly correlate with tourism, as visitors from other cities or countries stay in Vilnius for the night, they party, eat out, and buy certain services. That is the main reason why our events are focused on tourism,“ says Aleksandravičienė.
Eglė Ližaitytė, Executive Director of the Lithuanian Hotels and Restaurants Association, strongly agrees that each visit of a foreign artist to Lithuania has a positive impact on the hospitality sector.
„Without any doubt, world-famous artists attract a significant number of guests to Lithuanian hotels, restaurants, and other industries. Last year, hotels were full with visitors who came to the concerts of Rammstein and Imagine Dragons. This year, we felt an influx related to the concert of Bryan Adams,“ she explains.
Although she could not give specific figures, she noted that in the hospitality sector, the difference in bookings between ordinary days and city or country-level events is substantial.
Great Booking, Higher Prices
Data form Booking.com, the international online hotel booking site, shows growing interest in accommodation in cities where certain concerts are held. For example, if you wanted to stay for a night in Vilnius during the „As Young as Vilnius“ festival, the choice of accommodation was very limited as hotels were booked up to 72%.
The Ed Sheeran concert in Kaunas created even a bigger uproar. For the weekend of August 3-4, the platform had only 18% of the available accommodation options left, and prices for well-known hotels in the city had tripled or more. Due to Ed Sheeran’s concert, one night at the hotel that would normally cost around 70 euros for two for the weekend costed more than 250 euros.
Not Only Financial Gain
While major events are very economically beneficial to the city, service providers, and the hospitality sector, it is not all about the money that performances by well-known artists attract. It is worth considering the importance of the image and visibility of the city, and often even the country.
„Big events are covered by foreign media, and in this particular case (this year’s festival „As Young as Vilnius“ – editor’s note) we also reached Rita Ora’s audience, which reaches 16 million followers on Instagram. Moreover, the fact that a big star came to Vilnius also sends a message about the security of our region, which is of utmost importance in today’s geopolitical context,“ Aleksandravičienė explains.