Sónar condemns "the genocide of the Palestinian people"
The festival maintains that its relationship with the pro-Israel fund KKR is "zero."
Barcelona"Our position is clear and unequivocal: we condemn the genocide against the Palestinian people," the Sónar festival said in a statement. This position is based on requests received in recent weeks, when The Leap published that The pro-Israeli fund KKR acquired Superstruct Entertainment, the company that until last year owned Sónar.
The Barcelona festival, which will hold its 2025 edition from June 12 to 14, recalls that "Superstruct Entertainment, a company with more than eighty festivals worldwide, acquired Sónar in 2018." At that time, Providence Equity Partners was Superstruct's main investor. In October 2024, Providence withdrew and sold its stake to a consortium made up of KKR and more than 90 investors. "It was a purely financial transaction, in which we had no involvement, no voice, and no vote. Likewise, we exercise no influence or control over its investment decisions or its operation," says Sónar, which assures that it has not sent and will not send "a single euro to KKR." "After covering all festival costs (salaries, artists, production, communications, overhead costs, etc.), all profits are fully reinvested in future editions of Sónar," the festival explains.
According to Sónar, the relationship with Superstruct is "purely administrative" and "the relationship with KKR is non-existent." "The human team behind Sónar remains the same, with members who have even worked there since the first edition. The team operates with absolute independence and remains faithful to the principles, values and motivations that lead it to create, year after year, the festival. This involves technical production, communication and, of course, the artistic and discursive programming.
As for cancellations, for now the following artists have disassociated themselves from Sónar 2025: EYRA, Oma Totem, DJ Paca, DJ Sosa RD, Tiyumii, ABADIR, Akyute & Alice Sparkly Kat, Ancient Pleasure, Animistic Belief DjSport, Emma DJ, Forensis & Bill Kouligas, dj g2g, Heith, James K, Günseli Yalcinkaya & Andrea Belosi, Juliana Huxtable, KEBRA, Le Mote, Nexus (B4mba & Mooki6), Patten, Sara Persico & Mika Oki, Shannen Sofía, Vica Pacheco, Ville Haimala, Yessi Perse, and SADCUM, as well as Sega Bodega (the latter for health reasons).
Sónar+D activities have also been canceled. Cracks in the foundation: cure in 2025, Listen, the stars are talking, More creative women: DO feminism, Internet Core (Institute of Network Cultures) and Underground BDW (Barcelona Design Week) Likewise, the exhibitors BAU College of Arts and Design of Barcelona, Mutan Monkey Instruments, Patching Panda, Sbrk Devices, Vanessa Lorenzo Toquero aka Hybridoa and Vostok Instruments have canceled their participation in the Project Area.
