From extreme heat to sinking venues: how are festivals coping with climate change?

The worsening effects of climate change and hotter, longer, drier summers are having an effect on our big summer outdoor festivals. There are the usual concerns: is there enough drinking water, sunscreen? What about shaded areas and ventilation in tents?

‘You don’t want to be on an open boat on a river in the
middle of the day. It’s too hot and the sun is too sharp.’ 

But climate change has changed how large-scale public events run in previously unforeseen ways. Take Adelaide festival, for example, which wrapped up on Sunday. In recent years, the festival has run a venue on the River Torrens – The Palais, a floating pontoon, a nod to Adelaide’s 1920s floating dancehall, Palais de Danse, that sank in 1928. This year, the Palais was hosting events including a morning coffee and papers forum, as well as live music such as Washington and Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever.

Read the story from The Guardian by Brigid Delaney - “From extreme heat to sinking venues: how are festivals coping with climate change?”