13th Youth Song and Dance Festival

Time: 30.06-02.07.2023
Number of participants: nearly 85,000 at the song festival, nearly 48,000 at the dance festival (performers and audience in total)
Places: Tallinna Lauluväljak, Kalevi Central Stadium, Vabaduse Square, practice fields all over Tallinn

Acento's cooperation with the song and dance festival team started already in the beginning of 2022 with a training day that created a common understanding of what an environmentally friendly event is and what steps the song and dance festival team is ready to take for a more sustainable organization.

The practical preparation process started in winter 2023, and in cooperation with Acento, the organizing team focused on two main environmental activities:

• reduction of waste generation and separate collection of waste;

• organize all the catering during the song and dance festival on reusable dishes and cutlery.

Acento's role and activities in organizing a sustainable song and dance festival:

• Determining the needs of the waste management of the song and dance festival, planning and providing an input for public procurement;

• Consultation on the implementation of the reuse system of dishes and cutlery, planning and providing an input for public procurement;

• Supporting and advising the organizing team in the preparation and implementation of communication related to reuse system;

• Creation of the team structure necessary for the on-site implementation of environmental activities, support for finding suitable people for the sustainability team;

• Ongoing consulting of the management team in mitigating risks related to environmental activities, support in responding to media inquiries;

The environmental activities team assembled for the song and dance party worked as part of the song and dance festival team. Majority of Acento team members were at the festival to help with specific tasks - from coordinating the system of reuse dishes and cutlery in venues and practicing grounds to supervising and advising trades on spot.

Results:

• The song and dance festival was the biggest event in Estonia (and probably also in the Baltic-Nordic region), which was organized only by using reusable cups, dishes and cutlery. This included all catering for the performers during the week of the party as well as food and drink sold on the days of the festival.

• We avoided using 320,000 disposable dishes. This is approximately 2.3 tons of mixed household waste.

• Compared to the previous song and dance festival, the amount of mixed household waste decreased almost 3 times!

• Thanks to very thoroughly planned communication, the implementation of the reuse requirement had a strong impact on raising awareness across Estonia. The topic was actively covered in the media, mostly in a positive way.

• None of the major risks associated with the introduction of the reuse requirement (shortage of dishes, inability to collect reusables back, people's reluctance) did not materialize.

Feedback from Margus Toomla, head of the Estonian Song and Dance Festival Foundation: "In the 2023 song and dance festival, the Accento team made a significant contribution to the implementation of the reuse requirement and the planning of waste management by type. Their experience and desire to change events were an important impetus for finding solutions. On this exciting journey they were always dedicated and passionate. We, on behalf of the Estonian Song and Dance Party Foundation, are very grateful to the Accento team!"

Creating and implementing sustainability activities at a four-day open-air music and art festival.

Visitors: 5000 (2019), 3000 (2021, 2022).