At the end of April 2016, the first Mallorca Live Festival was held. The headline act was Skye & Ross from Morcheeba, originally a nineties trip-hop act from Kent who subsequently moved into a more mainstream pop genre. This was a festival that had been established with the intention of becoming a benchmark event, one to attract national and international artists.
Christina Aguilera in 2022.
That first festival, which had three stages - indie, world and electronica music - was at Son Fusteret in Palma. The second, which was held a couple of weeks later in mid-May, was at the old Aquapark in Magalluf, the festival's home ever since. One of the acts in 2017 was Spanish rapper C. Tangana. Five years on, he returned to the festival. Now over three days rather than two, he was a headliner for a festival which had well and truly become international - Christina Aguilera headlined on the Saturday, Muse on the Sunday. Editors, Franz Ferdinand, Jeff Mills; these were among other international acts. Jamiroquai, The Charlatans, Primal Scream, The Prodigy had appeared in 2018 and 2019. Covid then struck and the festival as such was off for two years, although there were socially distanced individual concerts in 2021.
The Chemical Brothers to perform this year.
There were to be more of these individual concerts last summer. They followed the main festival, as will be the case again this year. The Kooks, Black Eyed Peas and The Chemical Brothers are the festival headliners from May 18 to 20 and from June 16 to August 6 there will be concerts under the name 'Es Jardí', The Garden. UB40 will be appearing on July 29, and in keeping with the eclectic nature of the festival and a guiding philosophy of not wishing to be pigeon-holed in terms of genre, the Royal Film Concert Orchestra will be presenting a programme in tribute to three greats of the cinema music world - Ennio Morricone, John Williams and Hans Zimmer - on July 1.
From the origins at Son Fusteret, the festival has grown each year. In 2020, the intention had been to use all of the former Aquapark site for the first time. That proved to be impossible because of the pandemic. In 2022, it was possible, the festival's director, Álvaro Martínez, explaining at the time that it was now one of the five most important festivals in Spain. In terms of investment in music in the Balearics, it was the single most important.
Socially distanced concerts were organised in 2021.
The backing for the festival has been considerable. When it first moved to Magalluf, Calvia town hall was fully on board, Mayor Alfonso Rodríguez having been convinced not only of the economic benefit but also of the positive impact in enhancing Magalluf's image overseas.
Jamiroquai during his performance in 2019.
In January this year, there was a special presentation for the festival at the Fitur tourism fair in Madrid. As well as town hall representatives, there were those from the Council of Mallorca - President Catalina Cladera and tourism councillor Andreu Serra - plus senior managers from Meliá Hotels International, the Baleària ferry company and the El Corte Inglés travel division. Estrella Damm, Air Europa, Coca-Cola, Logitravel are others involved in sponsorship and logistics.
At Fitur, it was explained that the Mallorca Live Festival has become a strategic event for Mallorca and that "solid foundations" had been laid over the years to position Mallorca as a cultural tourism destination. As well as considerable economic impact, there was now huge media interest, which has helped with national and international market positioning. The festival had attained great recognition on the European festival circuit and had therefore benefited the "visibility" of the Mallorca brand, one undergoing a revision in terms of the drive towards ever greater quality.
Álvaro Martínez has said that the festival is a clear example of successful public-private collaboration in seeking to position Mallorca as a "responsible cultural, family and leisure destination". It is also an example of how this collaboration can grow the benefits. In 2018, the benefit - direct and indirect - from a total audience of 27,000 was put at 3.6 million euros. In 2022, 72,000 people attended; the benefit was 10.15 million euros. And over the years, roughly half the audience has come from overseas.
