‘Special in so many ways’: Atlas Festival on turning challenge into opportunity
The Ukrainian festival tells IQ how outgrowing its current site and persistent difficulty booking internationally are forging some of the festival's most profound moments
News By Ciaran Donnelly | 3 August 2026
Ukraine’s Atlas Festival has celebrated continued success that has seen it “outgrow” its current site, as it hosted 95,000 fans and increased its fundraising goals for its 2026 edition this month, despite air raid alerts forcing a crowd evacuation for the second year running.
A lineup of 87 acts meant the festival’s fundraising goal grew even more ambitious this year as it targeted 150 million UAH (€292 million). Fundraising from the weekend itself was cause for celebration for organisers, as it…
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