The World Fringe Congress 2024 x Stockholm Fringe Festival (#STOFF2024) & Åbo (Finland)

Stockholm Fringe Festival (STOFF), together with Finfringe (Finland) and the World Fringe are thrilled to welcome the global fringe community to the Nordics in 2024!

Once every second year, the global fringe festival industry that harbours over 300 festivals on all continents with a combined audience of 33 million people annually gathers in one place to exchange ideas, shape policies, and get inspired by their peers at the World Fringe Congress (WFC).

The World Fringe Congress (WFC 2024) will be held in TWO cities.

Stockholm from 26/8/24 through 28/8/24 and Åbo in Finland from 29/8/24 in collaboration with the World Fringe Network (WFN) and coincide with the 15th edition of the Stockholm Fringe Festival (STOFF).

Delegates are expected to arrive in Stockholm by the evening of Aug 25th to take advantage of the full congress days 26-27-28th of Aug.

The Stockholm days include all-day sessions with keynotes, panel talks, and tailormade Swedish artist showcases, plus access to the regular fringe program, including the opening party, a separate reception at city hall, speed dating and networking events.

In the evening of the 28th, we all board a cruise ship to Finland to transport overnight to Åbo, where the 4th full and final day of the congress takes place on the 29th. The full day in Åbo will include a breakfast with the Mayor, Keynote and panel talk sessions, a Finnish Stage Art Showcase and speed dating.

In the evening of the 29th, there's a return ferry to Stockholm. More info below.

The congress is a biennial event that originated at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (EdFringe) in Edinburgh, Scotland. The most recent editions of the congress have been organised by the Orlando Fringe Festival (2022), Adelaide Fringe Festival (2020), Edinburgh Festival Fringe (2018), and Montreal Fringe Festival (2016).

We estimate that at least 100-150 delegate

The theme for Congress is yet to be defined, but we expect sustainability to be a key element that will saturate many of the sessions. What does that mean? We’re thinking both in terms of how our industry operates in a post-pandemic world and also with the war in Ukraine as an example.

What's around the corner with AI and virtual performing spaces that arise from the use of augmented reality and such?

What are the trends and needs of our industry, and how can we refine our sector to serve the artists and audiences better and future-proof the fringe format?

Ultimately, the delegates register and share their thoughts, and will have a real impact on the content of the Congress program.

We urge everyone to register ASAP as the more details we have about who is coming from what country/region and what topics they want to discuss might help us to gain further funding for the possible bursaries and such. It will help us to adjust the size and nature of the proposed congress venues.

There is a great deal of information that we ask you to provide upon "check-out". Please download this WFC 2024 registration form dummy PDF with all the questions and prepare your answers before you "register".

Please note that the 2024 congress will include two Nordic cities and a ferry cruise with parts of the sessions aboard. This module is currently being investigated. A set of cabins in different price categories have already been booked to fit the expected nr of delegates. With the accommodation being fairly pricey both in Stockholm and Åbo, the two nights on the ferry act as a cheaper alternative for accommodations, and, it includes a nice all-you-can-eat buffet with stunning views of the archipelagos between the two cities. We will publish the cabin categories and prices at the end of NOV 2023. Regardless of the final format, the start is in Stockholm on the 26th of August, 2024. We suggest that you earmark the 25th of August for your travel day. If you want to get the full Nordic "flavour, plan a week + in the Nordics, with the finals days of #STOFF2024 being 29-30-31 of Aug & 1st of Sept. You can then take a train down to Gothenburg for their festival that starts on the 1st of Sept. Details of all the Nordic Fringe's and their Aug/Sept dates will be published at the end of Nov 2023.

The information provided by you in this form will be collected in accordance with the existing GDPR. If you have questions about the congress before you register, please e-mail: wfc@stockholmfringe.com

Thank you for your time!

Warm regards.

Stockholm Fringe Festival (#STOFF2024) & World Fringe Network (WFN) + FinFringe

Key WFC2024 Info:

Location: Stockholm (Sweden) /Åbo (Finland)

Dates: 26 - 29 August 2024

Contact Us: wfc@stockholmfringe.com

Delegate Registration

Book your place