Ádám is the Head of Operations at Sziget Cultural Management. He is responsible for delivering a stress-free and safe Sziget Festival for visitors and the crew as well. This includes the oversight of the daily operations of the Sziget office, the internal communications, the Customer Service, the Volunteer Program, and the Szitizen Care, Sziget’s health and well-being program.

Ádám graduated in communications & history, started as a journalist, then left his media career for the festival industry. He spent 10 (minus Covid) years in project management and communication roles, gaining experience in various fields, especially understanding the net of love-hate relations between staff, visitors, locals, officials and the public. His main interests are health & safety, the role of communication in festival (staff) experience and the public image of festivals.

Álvaro Martinho Dias Lopes comes from a family of winegrowers from Douro and holds a degree in Viticulture from the University of Trás os Montes and Alto Douro. His professional life is closely linked to Real Companhia Velha at Quinta das Carvalhas, where he specialized in viticulture. Since 1997, he has been responsible for this land with around 150 hectares of vineyards, 30 hectares of olive groves and more than 200 hectares of Mediterranean forest. There, he initiated the project of recovering old vines and restructuring / planting new vines by practicing hillside viticulture. He has a focus on sustainable agriculture and redefined the workforce by getting female workers to assume a fundamental role in the entire production process. Alvaro has created his own wines and brands and helped develop his region. In his spare time, he plays guitar, harmonica and sings in a traditional Portuguese music ban.

Besides being one of the directors of Boom Festival and the Being Gathering, two transformational and changemaking festivals, he is also a member of the board of directors of Portuguese Association of Shows, Festivals and Events – APEFE. University degree in Social and Organisational Psychology (ISCTE – University of Lisboa), later started an MA in Culture Management. Studies on permaculture, ecovillages design, organic agriculture, THNK School of Creative Leadership, and design thinking. Sports, meditation, and culture journalism are part of his background too. The will to support change led him to work on the social sector on ICE – Instituto das Comunidades Educativas, Associação Khapaz, and CET – Centro de Estudos Territoriais. He became active in the electronic music scene in Portugal in the mid 90s. He has been involved with Boom since the early days as party-goer and production staff besides organising and curating events of several genres.

Christian Denzer, co-founder of COVERMYASS and managing director of a medium-sized insurance broker in Pforzheim, has been known in the industry for over 10 years as a specialist in advertising film insurance. Christian could no longer tolerate the fact that insurance companies in the production and event business are hardly available after 4 p.m. and his requests for quotes were left unanswered – in an industry where time pressure is the order of the day. In addition, Christian still prefers to insure what others do not want to insure

Since 1993, Christof Huber is active in the Live Entertainment business. Since January 2020, Christof Huber is partner of the new formed Gadget abc Entertainment Group Switzerland, one of the biggest live entertainment companies in Switzerland. He is director festivals of the group and responsible for the OpenAir St.Gallen, one of the most important music festivals in Switzerland, Summerdays Festival, Seaside Festival and Unique Moments at the National Museum in Zurich. He also books the Stars in Town Festival. He is board member of Yourope, the European Festival Association since its founding in 1998 and from 2003-2021, he was general secretary of the association. Since 2021, he is working chairman of the association. He is a co-founder of the European initiative Take A Stand which was launched in 2017, a movement within the music industry encouraging social cohesion in our society, promoting awareness and tolerance for all cultures, genders, races, colours and religions.

Claes Olsen is Head of booking at and founder of The Øyafestival in Oslo, Norway. A festival that came out of the club scene in Oslo, started small with local acts and has grown organically since 1999. Claes, who started as a DJ, over the years has also run a venue, record label and record store.

Codruța Vulcu is the Director and Founder of the ARTmania Festival, one of Romania’s most established events, now in its 17th edition, focused on rock and metal. She also founded Blaj aLive Festival in 2013, featuring alternative and world music, and Romanian Music Export. In 2017, she launched the East European Music Conference & Showcase Festival to foster discussions between Romania’s music sector, international experts, and state authorities. Codruța is the President of AROC (Romanian Association of Concert Promoters) and served as Director of Large-Scale Events for Timișoara – European Capital of Culture 2023. She has over 20 years of experience in the arts, including organizing logistics for the official 2019 ceremonies with Pope Francis in Blaj. In 2020, she received the European Festival Award for Excellence and Passion, and in 2019, ARTmania won Best Small Festival. Codruța holds a bachelor’s degree in Art Photography and a master’s in Art History from the National University of Arts in Bucharest. She exhibited her work at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Bucharest and Kiasma Museum in Helsinki and was a press correspondent for major European festivals.

Fruzsina began her career as a band and tour manager at the age of 18. She is the managing director and festival director of Superbloom and Lollapalooza Berlin. Prior to that, she was the programme director of Sziget Festival for seven years. Fruzsina founded the Hungarian Music Export Office and is co-founder of Take A Stand, a movement that promotes respect, tolerance and diversity in the music industry. She also developed the EU project CEETEP (Central-Eastern European Talent Exchange Program) that became part of the European Talent Exchange Programme in 2016. Fruzsina is a board member of YOUROPE.

Greg Parmley is Managing Director of the International Live Music Conference (ILMC). ILMC is the leading annual conference for the international touring and festival businesses, and the organisation also organises the International Festival Forum (IFF) and other events. Additionally, ILMC publishes IQ, the leading source of news and content for the business read by 100,000 professionals each month. Greg is a co-founder and former CEO of the UK’s umbrella trade association LIVE, and due to one too many pub conversations, he also holds the Guinness World Record for Most Music Festivals Visited in 30 Days.

Holger is one of Europe’s leading networkers in the music festival branch. Among various topics he has a special focus on sustainability and social responsibility for festivals and events. Holger is General Secretary of YOUROPE – the European Festival Association, the most important representation of European popular music festivals with more than 100 members from 25 European countries. He also leads the pan-European think-tank GO Group (Green Operations Europe) that focuses on sustainability related and environmental issues at events. Holger looks back at 30 years working at festivals including the legendary RhEINKULTUR and Bizarre Festival. Today Holger is a booker, consultant and part of the management teams DAS FEST in Karlsruhe. Holger is contributing his expertise to various European funded projects such as YOUROPE’s “3F – Future-Fit Festivals” (Creative Europe). He is co-author of the book “stay SOUND & CHECK yourself” dealing with stress and mental health in the live music, festival and event industry and co-wrote the “Sounds For Nature guidelines for environmentally friendly events”.

A journalist for over 20 years, James is IQ Magazine’s Special Projects Editor, overseeing publications such as the European Festival Report, Global Arenas Guide, International Ticketing Report, Global Promoters Report and the Touring Entertainment Report. He is also editor of the Barbican’s monthly Guide magazine, and writes on culture for a variety of national and international publications. As a regular presenter James has appeared at conferences such as the ILMC, Canadian Music Week, MIDEM, and The Great Escape, and appeared on the BBC, France 24, ITV and more. He is former Managing Director of the UK and European Festival Awards.

Jana Posth has been Director Festivals at PRK DreamHaus since 2024, overseeing Rock am Ring and Rock im Park. From 2021 to 2023, she directed Lollapalooza Berlin for two years at Live Nation. Previously, she worked at Goodlive GmbH as Senior Project Manager for Content & Creation. Between 2016 and 2020, she was active as a Creative Producer on international cultural and brand projects. Her career in the live events industry began in 2014 in production management. Jana Posth studied philosophy and social sciences at Humboldt University in Berlin as well as dance in Mannheim, and worked as a professional dancer for over fifteen years before entering the cultural and events sector.

João L. M. Pereira holds a PhD from Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, and is certified for professor level positions in the Netherlands by the University of Amsterdam. João is interested in Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Databases (DB). He made significant research in information extraction systems, acronym expansion, and user involvement in data cleaning. His noteworthy contributions include publications on acronym expansion in the Proceedings of the Very Large Databases (Schimago Q1).

João’s supervision led to the publication of two Master’s thesis in workshops associated with the Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing and the International Conference on Intelligent Data Engineering and Automated Learning. João has successfully coordinated four courses and participated as a Teaching Assistant for more than 10 different courses. He participated as supervisor for projects and Master’s theses with companies and organizations such as Randstad, the Municipality of Amsterdam, and the fire department.

Currently, as a researcher at the VISTA Lab, Algoritmi Center at the University of Évora, João coordinates a consulting project on applying Large Language Models to Personal Training and Nutrition services. He is also involved in the EU Horizon–funded HarmonicAI project, the Awaken Moments consulting initiative funded by Empower Startups, and, most recently, the Compete2030 co-promotion project FA4R.

Linnéa is the founder of Greener Events, a leading consultancy specializing in sustainability for the cultural and event sectors. She has nearly 30 years of experience in the live entertainment industry, advising festivals, sports events, and cultural institutions on environmental strategies. She has led major initiatives such as the European Green Roadmap 2030, the Nordic Green Roadmap for Cultural Institutions and has served as sustainability lead for Rosendal Garden Party. She is also a co-founder of GO Group.

Luděk Motyčka is an expert in marketing and digital strategies. He has long-term experience from leading marketing roles, having spent 14 years at Google and also working at companies like McKinsey & Company and HSBC. He has participated in hundreds of advertising campaigns and a number of product innovations. In 2023, he became a partner and CEO at Ameba Production, which is the organizer of the Rock for People festival and the RFP concerts series, where he leads the booking and marketing teams.

Luis Lles has a degree in Economics, has worked as an economist and as a lecturer of Political Economy at the University School of Labour Relations in Huesca. He has done several music programs on different radio stations (currently on Hit Radio with ‘La Caja de los Truenos’) and has worked as a music critic and cultural journalist in Diario del Altoaragón and El País, as well as in numerous specialized media such as Ruta 66, Menos 15, Rockdelux, Trax, Zona de Obras, Florida 135 Dance Magazine and Ajoblanco, among others.

In 1998, he edited the book ‘Dance Music’ (Editorial Celeste), the first one dedicated to Electronic music in Spain, and later he participated in other collective books such as ‘Loops’, ‘Diccionario de Hip-Hop y Rap Afrolatinos’ and ‘Rock, Acción! Essays on cinema and popular music’. He has taught ‘History of Popular Music’ in the master’s degree in Cultural Management at the University of Zaragoza and has participated in numerous talks and conferences on musical and cultural topics. From 1999 until his recent retirement in 2020, he worked as a cultural management technician at the Huesca City Council, where he has directed, among other projects, the Periferias Festival, the International Theatre and Dance Fair and the Pirineos Sur festival organised by the DPH.

The Periferias Festival was cancelled in 2023 by the Spanish far-right party PP-Vox. The festival’s philosophy is now being continued by the new Extrarradios Festival, whose program director is Luis. It takes place in two small villages near Luis’s hometown of Huesca.

Mariana holds a master’s degree in Cultural Management and a degree in Permaculture. She has worked in the area of event production since 2006, in the areas of financial and commercial management and executive production. She is one of the directors of the cultural organization Good Mood Lda, producer of the Boom Festival event, a project that has proven itself in the sustainability sector and has won international awards in this area in every edition since 2008 (Greener Festival Award, European Festival Award, member of the United Nations Music & Environment Stakeholder Initiative). In addition to the festival, the organization has developed other projects that were born in this area, such as Being Gathering, a medium size festival focused on well-being, nature arts and music; the consultancy Balance, which aims to support other entities in making their events more sustainable and with a positive impact, and Boom Bazaar, a marketplace for products and producers that, in order to be included in the platform, must comply with certain sustainability criteria.

Marta Pallarès is a music journalist from Barcelona with a master’s degree in cultural journalism, who has developed a career beyond media to dive into music business. Back home after some years in Mexico City, and following two editions coordinating the Primavera Sound festival livestream with Red Bull TV, Pallarès got in charge of the international comms for the event. In 2023, she became its Head of Press, a position where she continued handling the relationship with media partners, while building strategies with national and foreign press and leading Primavera’s press team. Pallarès was the company’s official spokesperson for initiatives such as the event’s pioneering commitment to gender balanced lineups, until she left the company in October 2025. She is also one of members of the board of YOUROPE.

Miguel Almeida is a Professor at the University of Coimbra and Principal Investigator at the Association for the Development of Industrial Aerodynamics (ADAI), where he serves on the Board of Directors. With a PhD on Mechanical Engineering – Natural and Technological Risks, his research focuses mainly on wildfire risk management, particularly in the wildland–urban interface. Author of over 70 scientific publications, he has participated and coordinated multiple research projects. Moreover, since 2018 that he serves as Safety Director at the Boom Festival.

Mikko Niemelä is CEO and promoter of Ruisrock which is one of the oldest and leading cultural events in Finland established in 1970. The Festival with a capacity of 35 000 daily visitors is known for its magical atmosphere and it takes place on the beautiful island of Ruissalo in Turku. Mikko has been working with Ruisrock since 2006 as a producer, production manager and at his current position as a promoter since 2011. The 45-year-old Mikko lives in Helsinki and besides leading Ruisrock he is also an active DJ and a board member of YOUROPE.

Morten is the Director of Safety at Roskilde Festival Group. With his academic knowledge from a BA in Crowd Safety Management and an MSc in Crowded Places and Public Safety Management, he tries to build the bridge between academia and practical knowledge of crowd safety management. His team provides training and consultancy as well as safety staff for hundreds of shows a year – and of course Roskilde Festival, a 100% non-profit festival gathering 130,000 people per day for 8 days.

Natália Oszkó-Jakab has been the Festival Director of the Valley of Arts Festival (Művészetek Völgye) since 2013, the oldest, and greatest multi-art festival in Hungary, founded in 1989. She is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Arts for Rural Development Foundation.

Natália started at the Palace of Arts in 2005. She spent two years (2011-13) at an international organization. As a cultural diplomat, she was leading the Liszt Institute Brussels in 2022-2023 while leading her foundations and festivals. She is founder of the Music Hungary Associations and now the Festival Department leader. In 2021, she founded the Hungarian Tourism Program Foundation, which became the EFFE Hungarian Hub in fall 2023. Through Startup Safari Budapest Festival, she is fostering collaboration between the cultural and innovation sector. Since May 2024 Natalia has been a board member of the European Festivals Association (EFA) and an ELSI Board member of EIT Culture and Creativity KIC.

Prof. Dr. Özgehan Şenyuva is a professor of international politics at Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara, Turkey. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Università degli Studi di Siena (Italy), an M.A. in International Relations, and a B.A. in Political Science and Public Administration from METU. With a strong academic foundation in international relations, Prof. Şenyuva has built a dynamic career at the intersection of politics, culture, and civil society.

In addition to his academic work, he is a well-known and experienced expert in the fields of youth work and civil society, both as a researcher and a practitioner. For over three decades, he has actively contributed to European-level initiatives that connect political education, civic engagement, and non-formal learning. His unique approach often involves bringing underexplored areas into dialogue with political science—most notably football and music as tools for understanding and influencing social change.

Prof. Şenyuva has collaborated with YOUROPE in the past, where he led a workshop at EFC, exploring the political potential of festivals in engaging youth and civil society. He was also one of the project leaders of FUSION – Festivals as Social Innovation Incubators, a pioneering initiative that bridged the world of music festivals with youth work practice, fostering festivals as inclusive and participatory civic spaces.

His work offers critical insights into how festivals can serve not only as cultural gatherings but also as platforms for political expression, community-building, and resistance – particularly in contexts shaped by growing authoritarianism and democratic backsliding.

Ralf Kitzberger is attorney and partner of the German law firm Schickhardt Rechtsanwälte. He studied Law at the University of Konstanz (Germany), Lausanne (Switzerland) and did his Masters in 1994/95 at the Temple University in Philadelphia (USA). Ralf Kitzberger is specialized in entertainment Law and acts on behalf of promoters of music and sport events in fields like negotiation of contract, copyright, trademark etc

At the helm of Rock in Rio since 2001, Roberta has been responsible for implementing pioneering sustainability processes. She led the first step in the international expansion of the project, with its first edition outside Brazil – Rock in Rio Lisboa 2004. She assumed the role of Executive Vice President of Rock in Rio in all the markets the event has reached – Brazil, Portugal, Spain, and the USA – and is also responsible for projects by Rock World Lisboa – the entity that promotes the event – such as Worten Game City by Rock in Rio and the Christmas Tree of Portugal, Poland, and Romania. In addition to leading Rock in Rio Lisboa, she is also the Chief Brand Reputation Officer at Rock World, the company that owns Rock in Rio, Rock in Rio Lisboa, The Town, and produces Lollapalooza Brazil.

Sam Shemtob is a director of FEAT (the Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing), which was launched in 2019 by some of Europe’s leading promoters to fight for fairer ticket resale. FEAT helped to unite the live sector in calling for landmark regulation of online secondary ticketing marketplaces in the Digital Services Act. FEAT is part of a coalition of live events organisations working to Stop Resale Robbery! by improving event organisers’ means of educating consumers on safe ticket resale. Prior to helping establish FEAT, Sam founded leading communications consultancy Name PR, which counted the Society of Ticket Agents and Resellers (STAR), the Association of Independent Festivals, Twickets and Eventbrite among its clients.

Shpat Begolli has been part of Sunny Hill Festival since its inception in 2016 and currently serves as the Managing Director and Head of Operations. Appointed as Managing Director in 2025, he now leads the festival’s overall development and international growth, working to further establish Sunny Hill among Europe’s leading music festivals.

A management professional and Master’s graduate from the University of Sheffield, Shpat began his career in operations management within communication and educational organizations. At Republika Marketing Communication, he organized numerous concerts and cultural events, including the launch of Sunny Hill Festival, a milestone that set his path in the live music industry

Tristan is the Campaign Coordinator at FEAT, overseeing the organisation’s day-to-day operations. Before joining FEAT, Tristan spent three and a half years working in research and policy for a UK Member of Parliament, contributing to a nationwide campaign to prevent dangerous dog attacks. Outside of work, he promotes small club nights, and DJs on the local circuit.

Economist. Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Lisbon, ISEG – Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Director of Instituto Superior de Gestão and President of CIRIUS – Research Centre on Regional and Urban Economics.

DPhil in Economics in 2004, Department of Economics and Related Studies, University of York, United Kingdom, Master in Monetary and Financial Economics and BSc in Economics, Technical University of Lisbon, ISEG – Lisbon School of Economics and Management respectively in 1994 and 1997.

Formerly Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Prime Minister from 2020 to 2023 and economic advisor to the Portuguese Prime Minister from 2016 to 2017 and from 2005 to 2011. Coordinator or member of the team of several research projects carried out for public and private entities.