Lollapalooza is gearing up for its flagship event this weekend at Grant Park in Chicago, but the gigantic festival brand still has its eyes set on international expansion. This week Lolla announced that it would continue its expansion into South America, kicking off a brand new festival in Colombia during the fall of 2016.
The event will take place at Parque Simón Bolivar, a huge urban park in the heart of Colombia's capital, Bogota. The festival will be produced by Lolla, WME, C3 Presents with local, Bogota-based promoters T310 / Absent Papa.
"We have had the ambition to bring Lollapalooza to Colombia for some time now, and have found partners who are true professionals and share our passion for the music," said Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell in a statement. "Fans in Colombia have a true love of alternative music and we are excited for the rest of the world to find out what we already know about this wonderful country."
The move into Colombia builds the South American empire for Lollapalooza. They have already established very successful festivals elsewhere in South America in countries that have been fertile ground for the international festival market — Brazil, Argentina and Chile.
After decades of deadly war between FARC rebels and the government, the country is growing at a healthy clip with tourism booming and a potential peace agreement on the horizon being worked out in Cuba. Fans will still have to wait a whole year until they see the plans take shape in Colombia, but it is exciting to see the country have a festival in Colombia.
This will also give the burgioning local music scene a chance to mingle with international superstars and show their talent on the big stage.
