LETTER TO THE BOOMERS 2023

Our self-evaluation on the past 14th edition, rich with facts and figures

It was a memorable edition. After 14 editions, 26 years of existence and the real end of the pandemic cycle, we celebrated Radical Love as a truly global community at Boomland.

As is tradition, following our principle of active participation and transparency, we send our Letter to the Boomers. Rich with facts, figures, and self-evaluations, this Letter serves as a catalyst that transforms the weeks following the festival into a moment to resonate with the past and to forge the pathways that will shape our future.

Performance at Boom 2023, Photo by Amir Weiss

 

 

SOME RELEVANT FACTS & FIGURES ABOUT BOOM 2023
 

Every year we improve our structures for the comfort of the community. This is a continuous work where we apply the resources generated by the festival that come exclusively from the public.

Below you can see what has been done from 2010 (date of entry into Boomland) until now. 

 

Adjustments resulting from the insightful feedback received from you in 2022 have urged us to make strategic decisions, including a planned reduction of our audience size. As a direct outcome, for the year 2023, we have deliberately cut down ticket availability by 2,000.

Contained within this table is a figure encompassing attendees, staff, artists, facilitators, guests, therapists, and various other dedicated professionals who participated in the festival in 2023.

In the preceding Boom 2022 edition, the general population was 40,751. Demonstrating our commitment to enhancing the community experience, 2023 saw the manifestation of our objective: the provision of a more spacious environment for our beloved Boom community.

 

 

Boom remains an axiom of globalism in festival culture. In an era where concepts such as inclusivity and diversity take centre stage for a more fair civil society, it is inspiring to witness a psychedelic festival serving as a magnet for individuals hailing from diverse cultures and backgrounds.

Your presence and participation are deeply appreciated. We Are One.

 

And how many people from all those cultures have been part of Boom? This is a frequently asked question and, in response, we disclose the data from ticket sales focusing on the Top 20 countries/territories represented.

 

If we were to calculate a daily estimate of the 2023 ticket price, the average price per day for Friendly Price ticket holders is €28.75. A Regular Price equals to an average of €34.37 per Boom day. This fact alone shows social awareness applied to making this event as inclusive as possible for people with different economic realities.

 

Despite cutting back on available tickets, we wanted a better service for the community, which is why there was an increase in workers both in pre-production/build-up and during the festival.

 

We built 18 more showers compared to 2022, based on your feedback and our own observation.

With regard to toilets, the changes from 2022 were the replacement of some compost toilets in places of greater affluence and the construction of new ones - maintaining the same amount in relation to 2022.

Note that on top of the 457 compost toilets, since 2022 there have been 3 sets of eco urinals available at Boomland. Each set can be used by up to 20 Boomers at a time.

 

We improved camping and caravan park areas to bring you more comfort. This meant:

• A planned reduction of the occupancy rate in all caravan parks;
   
• A brand new caravan park area;
   
• More camping space and new platforms in some camping areas;
   
• New watchtowers for fire safety.

 

As a psychedelic culture festival with 21 stages we wanted to offer a variety of experiences and we are satisfied with the quality provided with hundreds of shows. A word of special appreciation and respect to the artists who presented their magnificent art and music at Boom - Thank you very much, Muito Obrigado!

 

One of our goals at Boom is to provide tools for human transformation. Through hundreds of workshops and lectures we have been able to bring influences, insights and knowledge to the Boom community for a more conscious culture rooted inon the theme Radical Love. Thank you to all facilitators, therapists and healers.

 

Knowing from the outset that we were going to deliberately reduce the number of Boomers, we felt that there was no need for a major expansion of food vendors and stalls.

 

 

THE 3 MAIN CHALLENGES WE FACED

1. Year-to-year edition: Since 1997/98 Boom has not made consecutive editions. 2023 was a product of the pandemic. A festival like ours intends to reflect on the zeitgeist, it has a production that takes time and projects that need several months to mature. 
   
   Annual editions are not an easy and ideal scenario due to our conceptual characteristic - the need to make this experience special, for the land to rest - and they pose several challenges. Despite this, our resilience and the support of the public resulted in a memorable edition.
    
2. Portuguese fire law: In Portugal, a law published in 2021 prohibited the organisation of cultural events in forest areas during heat waves to mitigate fire risk. The 2022 edition of Boom Festival was successfully held due to implementing comprehensive anti-fire measures within Boomland.
   
   However, as we entered 2023, a cloud of uncertainty loomed. Several months passed with no clarity on the impending regulations. Just days before the gates opening of Boom 2023, a new legislation was unveiled. This new law entrusts the responsibility of inspecting fire prevention measures to regional entities.
    
3. Pirate Market: We accept that the psychedelic and traveller cultures have many nuances and lifestyles. One of them is the Pirate Market, where the artistic quality of many sellers is fantastic. We have given space for the Pirate Market to happen like always. Unfortunately, this year again, they've taken up too much public space, destroyed walls and left a landscape of rubbish in the venue.

 

THE 3 THINGS WE ARE MOST HAPPY WITH

1. Improvements on water system: In 2022 we had difficulties with the supply of water from the public network, a sign of the drought in the country. Since right after the previous festival, the local authorities developed new sources of water for the region while we were also blessed with rains that could fill up reservoirs.
   
   On our end, we built more storage of water (additional 1 million litres). Plus, introduced electronic monitoring on storage and to improve water distribution we built 3 km more of pipelines. At the same time, we maintained the limitation of shower times - we thank Boomers for their tolerance and sensitivity to this issue.
    
2. The hard work from the crew: Those who come to the festival may not notice the hard work of hundreds of people to produce and build Boom.
   
   At Boomland, most of it is done under extremely hot conditions, far from home, and despite the hardship, the community vibe is outstanding and done with a beautiful degree of dedication. Boom is much more than the sum of its parts, both long- term and short- term teams deserve the applause.
    
3. Transparency: In 2018 we started publishing online the financial report of Boom Festival, which we continue up to today. This time we took one step forward in terms of transparency to our community: on the bars there were Transparency Boards with the breakdown of costs vs profit for the organisation of the items on sale.
   
   We will keep completing this valuable information for a culture of transparency between the production and the beautiful Boom community.

 

Now that we are finishing the dismantling and cleaning at Boomland and the teams return to their homes, the memory of what was experienced at Boom fills all our hearts.

May this inspiration and love brighten our days and make us better human beings.

Once again, thanks for being a Boomer.

Live in Love,
Boom Team