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In practise this means Flow Festival will not programme artists where Israeli state institutions such as the foreign ministry are involved as funders or organisers but Israeli artists with no ties to the Israeli state's hybrid influence operations can be invited to perform at the festival.
"Flow has been a pioneer both in Finland and internationally in ethically sustainable festival production," said Flow Festival CEO Katariina Uusitupa in an official statement, "and we are glad to have reached a mutual understanding with activists doing important work. We defend the same values: justice, equality, and non-discrimination, and we oppose all discrimination based on citizenship and identity. We both believe in the power of culture and art to change the world for the better."
Flow Strike publicist Jenna Jauhiainen praised the agreement as a "historic milestone for democracy activism in the Finnish cultural field"... "but at the same time it is a fairly ordinary and simple thing," she added. "Flow commits to defending human rights and to taking human rights impacts into account in partnerships. The same is possible for all cultural sector organisations and companies."
This year's Flow Festival runs from 14-16 August with a lineup that includes Clipse, Florence + The Machine, Honey Dijon, KETTAMA, Lambrini Girls, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Turnstile, and Zara Larsson. It's been held in Helsinki’s former power plant region, Suvilahti, since 2004, and attracts around 90,000 visitors over the three-day event.
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