'From the night and the light, all festivals are golden': the festivalization of culture in the late modernity

Abstract

Festivals have been stated as important forms of social and cultural participation. In thetwentyfirst century, all countries have been faced with a number of annual festivals, butalso by diversifying the type of festivals, its location and its audiences. The festival modelhas expanded all over the world and became globalize. With this model emerged the socalledfestivalization of culture. Portugal was no different in this phenomenon. The mainpurpose of this chapter is to explore the Portuguese festival dynamics. These dynamicshave the function of globalization coding, marketing and culture of media coverage,mobilizing thousands of actors on the supply side, in mediation and on the demand side.There are several elements that prove this in Portugal: unprecedented evolution in thenumber of festivals over the past two decades; the spread of festivals around the country,especially in its Atlantic coast and in metropolitan areas; the exponential increase of thehabitués; the weight of the turnover of the festivals in the statement of accounts cultureand cultural industries; the importance of festivals for the launch and projection of thebands; and, above all, the design of a new way of life in an environment marked byconsumptions, appropriations and embodiments of practices, associated with experienceand sociability of the festival.