Delfinen #158

first edition of the festival in 1997 indicates. The
Boom concept aims at an “alternative reality” and
is dedicated to “free spirits”. In the organisers’
words: “The aim [of the festival] is to join a huge
worldwide family in the present time continuum
and in together allowing the Culture, the Love,
the Sacred Earth and the Art to melt and mingle
and eventually… Boom! We all take one big step
together “.
The festival is versatile – art for example has
many facets: visual art, live art (which comprises
performing arts such as Theatre, Dance, Circus and
Performance Art), Land Art (where art is produced
from natural materials growing from the earth
such as wood), paint (ranging from oil painting to
digital live painting) and, of course, music.
The Boom festival also offers a Healing Area
where meditations, sound journeys and therapies
are held in a garden environment “to tune us in
to physical well-being, mental clarity, spiritual
understanding and the development of a sense of
compassion.”
Boom distinguishes itself when it comes to being
conscious about ecology and sustainability.
Following 17 sustainability standards that
22 DELFINEN
INTERNATIONAL | MUSIC FESTIVALS
commit to being environmentally friendly Boom
recycles all the water used at the festival on site
by a biological treatment system. Furthermore
alternative energies are used – since 2008
generators are utilized powered by used vegetable
oil. The program ‘Your Oil is Music’ brought to life
by the Boom festival wants to educate people
about the potential environmental disaster caused
by throwing oil down the sink and offers a solution
– donate your veggie oil to local municipality or
just bring it to Boom. Another aspect where the
educational aim of the festival is rendered visible
is the section on composting toilets on the Boom
website; not only are these kind of toilets (that
help to save water) used throughout the festival,
the webpage explains how to use them, how they
work and a critical section on why compost toilets
are a better alternative to water toilets.
Recycled materials are used in both production
and construction of the festival and waste
management is closely followed with an explicit
request to the festival goers to take care of the
things they bring along. Actually the website
goes one step further offering a critique of our
modern-day, capitalistic and materialistic society
“Please control your urge to consume! Don’t bring
tons of packages, plastics, bottles, napkins and
all those things our wasteful culture considers
conveniences. These things are just RUBBISH! You
don’t need them and they are screwing up our
Planet.”
The Boom festival has a theme – this year it is
water, which is “essential for all dimensions of life”.
The various kinds of art pay tribute to this year’s
theme throughout the festival, which for the first
time is held at a beautiful lakeside scenery.
One last aspect I want to point out about this
festival is their consciousness about unequal
structures – this is why tickets prices are lower for
people from developing countries. Additionally,
one developing country is chosen each year whose
citizens can enter the festival for free, this year it’s
the Republic of Chile.
So, what are you waiting for? Pack your backpacks,
order a festival ticket, get on the plane, the bus or
the train and enjoy one of the many music festivals
that are taking place this summer in Europe!
Boom Festival