SÓNAR ANNOUNCES TWO NEW IN-PERSON FESTIVALS FOR BARCELONA IN AUTUMN 2021, EXPANDS ITS ACTIVITY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND RE-SCHEDULES ITS JUNE EDITION TO 2022

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This Autumn, from the 27th and 30th October 2021, Sónar will celebrate two new festivals for Barcelona, featuring in-person activities at the CCCB and a program of online content produced in collaboration with local and international partners in cities around the world.

For the first time in Barcelona, Sónar will organize the AI and Music Festival, focused on the application of and challenges surrounding the use of Artificial Intelligence in musical creation. The festival is organized by Sónar, the Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya (UPC), béteve and the European Commission as part of the S+T+ARTS initiative.

The AI and Music Festival will take place in parallel to an expanded, in person edition of SónarCCCB, with more music and a number of stages dedicated to live performances as well as talks, debates and demonstrations in the Sónar+D program.

Both festivals will take on a hybrid format; mainly live. In total, more than 60 activities will take place, the majority of which will be in-situ, as well as online exclusives, designed and created specifically to engage with digital audiences. In the months leading up to the AI and Music Festival, Sónar and the UPC, will form a Thinking Lab, led by the University, to promote a dialogue between art, science and technology around Artificial Intelligence.

Sónar’s activity this year stretches far beyond these dates. From now until the end of the year, Sónar will continue to create and explore via synergies and collaborations on a local and international level, joining and powering creative projects such as the European project led by Hangar, On-the-Fly, the festival-forum co-collaboration We Are Europe, Factory Berlin, Taller de Musics, the new audiovisual project PRSNT, the music documentary festival In-Edit, the digital culture space IDEAL, the EINA IDEA project by Fundació EINA, the Institut de Cultura de Barcelona (ICUB) and the Departament de Cultura through the Institut Catalá de les Empreses Culturals (ICEC).

Within this frame, Sónar Istanbul will also celebrate its 5th edition on October 2nd.  All these projects, and more will be amplified through Sónar’s digital channels as #ThisisSonar, creating a unique and atemporal digital program.

Sadly, due to force majeure, the edition of Sónar Barcelona planned for this coming June has been postponed, and will now take place on 15.16.17.18. June 2022. The case numbers, mobility restrictions, and the lack of applicable legislation for the organization of large events has made the celebration of the festival in the conditions required unviable. The entire Sónar team is working hard on the June 2022 edition and will soon be able to share first details of the line up.

Ticket and delegate pass holders for 2020 and 2021 will be contacted by email on the 10th May, with all of the information on the benefits available to them for carrying over their ticket to 2022, as well as how to claim a refund, if they desire, from May 12th.

Sónar would like to sincerely  thank their audience, teams, artistic community, institutions, sponsors and partners for their support and understanding. The organization remains alert to the local and global evolution of the health situation, and continues to work closely with authorities in order to implement the necessary protocols to guarantee the safety and best experience for all participants in the programmed festivals.

More details of the AI and Music Festival, SónarCCCB and Sónar 2022 will soon be released. In the meanwhile, follow the program at sonar.es, sonarplusd.com and #ThisIsSonar on Sónar and Sónar+D Socials.

Institutions, partners and sponsors

SónarCCCB 2021 is an initiative of Advanced Music and CCCB with the collaboration of betevé, the support of the Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya through the Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals (ICEC), the Ajuntament de Barcelona, the program Creative Europe of the European Union, We Are Europe, Impost Turístic and the Ajuntament de l’Hospitalet.
SónarCCCB 2021 counts with the principal sponsor Estrella Damm and with the sponsorship of Thunder Bitch, ME by Meliá, Eagle Snacks y Takis. Supported by TMB. 

AI and Music Festival is an initiative of the S+T+ARTS program, Advanced Music, UPC and betevé. In association with Factory Berlin, C/O POP, TodaysArt and iMAL. The European Commission has selected the consortium formed by Sónar, the UPC and Betevé to organize the AI and Music Festival, part of the S+T+ARTS (Science, Technology & the Arts), initiative within the I+D Horizon 2020 program. 

Sónar 2022 is an initiative of Advanced Music with the collaboration of the Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya through the Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals (ICEC), the Ajuntament de Barcelona, Creative Europe, We Are Europe, Impost Turístic and the Ajuntament de l’Hospitalet. 
Sónar 2022 counts with the principal sponsor Estrella Damm and with the sponsorship of MEDIAPRO, Red Bull y Coca-Cola. With the support of TMB.