Going to an outdoor cinema is a perfect summer activity when the warm air stays late into the evening. Big Crowd Factory has been organizing free outdoor cinema festivals for the past six years, and this summer is no exception.
In February 2017, students Viktor Skoglund and Anton Lindegren were studying for an exam. Outside, the sun was shining and distracting them with thoughts of summer. This is when the two students started thinking about an outdoor cinema, which would also be free for everyone.
The young men took action and organized a free outdoor cinema in Skottskogen in Gothenburg that year. They planned for a few hundred people to attend and spread the word about the event on Facebook. However, the response was greater than expected and by the spring nearly 20 000 people had registered their interest. Then the students had to think about getting a bigger screen, another permit and so on. When the time came, around 5000 people showed up, which was much more than expected.
That’s how the Big Crowd Factory was created. Today they have Europe’s largest outdoor cinema and organize a number of free events in Sweden.
It’s now more than just a cinema, which is why they call it an outdoor cinema festival. There are often music artists and DJs playing music before the movie is shown. There are also food carts in the area, and a cinema kiosk for those who want to buy some snacks for the movie.
Last year, a record number of 12,100 people gathered in the Azalea Valley in Slottsparken in Gothenburg. The outdoor cinema festival is still held in Slottsparken in Gothenburg, but has also expanded to Stockholm and Malmö. The festival is still free and everyone is welcome.
This summer’s festival schedule
- Malmö, Tallriken | Saturday, July 1 (Estimate: 6500 visitors)
- Stockholm, Rålambshovsparken | Saturday, July 8 (Estimate: 8500 visitors)
- Gothenburg, Azaleadalen | Saturday, July 15 (Estimate: 10,000 visitors)
- Stockholm, Rålambshovsparken | Friday, July 21 (Estimate: 10,000 visitors)
- Stockholm, Rålambshovsparken | Saturday, July 22 (Estimate: 8500 visitors)
- Malmö, Tallriken | Saturday July 29 (Estimate: 6500 visitors)
