“In its own gentle way, the festival makes the extraordinary possible:
you go for the music, you come back with a little more faith in humankind.”
La Bruja de Texcoco portrait by Melanie Marsman
Le Guess Who? • Facts & Figures 2019
- Shindig! Magazine
Facts & Figures 2019
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Ustad Saami - by Jelmer de Haas
Le Guess Who? • Facts & Figures 2019
“Every year, you can rely on the festival to boast some of the
“The most diverse, open and inspiring festival out there”
most diverse, surprising, and often revelatory lineups out of any festival that operates on this scale. For its 2019 installment, Le Guess Who? was perhaps
– The Line of Best Fit
more idiosyncratic and adventurous than ever.” 2
Design: Van Lennep, Amsterdam
- Stereogum
Le Guess Who? November 7–10, 2019 Utrecht, the Netherlands leguesswho.com
Curators 2019: Fatoumata Diawara Iris van Herpen & Salvador Breed Jenny Hval, Moon Duo Patrick Higgins, The Bug
(general program + Untitled)
20.514 visitors → tickets sold in 61 countries → 250+ performances →
& activities
46 countries → 98 partners → 37 venues → 200 volunteers
→ artists from
x
Satellite Events 2019 (Le Mini Who? + Lombok Festival + Le Bazarre + Le Feast)
5.085 visitors → 79 performances
→
→
& activities
38 venues
“The top music-related reason to visit Utrecht is undoubtedly Le Guess Who?, an annual fourday event that puts most other festivals in Europe to shame for
both diversity and organisation.”
Le Le Guess Guess Who? Who? • Facts • Facts & Figures & Figures 2019 2019
Le Guess Who? 2019
Photo by Tess Janssen
- The Guardian
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Le Guess Who? 2019 33% has visited the festival 5 times or more 24% is a first-time visitor of the festival
57% of 4-Day Passes sold abroad
43% of 4-Day Passes sold in The Netherlands
Most important reasons to visit LGW: → The festival program in general → Discovering new artists and bands → Atmosphere of the festival & the audience
“There aren’t many festivals in the world that can level the
creative and curatorial brilliance that Le Guess Who? offers each year.” - The Ransom Note
Photo by Tess Janssen
Le Guess Who? • Facts & Figures 2019
43% has visited the festival 2-4 times
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Albania
Greece
Montenegro
South Africa
Argentina
Hong Kong
Netherlands
South Korea
Australia
Hungary
Netherlands Antilles
Spain
Austria
India
New Zealand
Sweden
Belarus
Ireland
Nicaragua
Switzerland
Belgium
Israel
Norway
Taiwan
Belize
Italy
Peru
Thailand
Brazil
Japan
Philippines
Turkey
British Virgin Islands
Jordan
Portugal
Ukraine
Canada
Latvia
Poland
United Kingdom
Colombia
Libya
Puerto Rico
United States
Czech Republic
Liechtenstein
Romania
United States Virgin
Denmark
Luxembourg
Russia
Islands
Finland
Malaysia
Serbia
Venezuela
France
Malta
Slovakia
Germany
Mexico
Slovenia
Le Guess Who? • Facts & Figures 2019
Fatoumata Diawara - by Tim van Veen
Tickets sold in 61 countries:
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Are you going to visit Le Guess Who? again?
Certainly: 74% Pretty sure: 19% Neutral: 5% Maybe: 2% Certainly not: 0%
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Promoters: 72% Passive: 27% Detractors: 3%
* Net
Promoter Score: 69 (average for festivals = between 30 & 40)
10/10: 30% 9/10: 39% 8/10: 21% 7/10: 7% 6/10: 2% 5/10: 1%
“Je weet nooit wát je precies zult horen op festival Le Guess Who?,
maar dat je wordt meegesleept, staat vast.” - De Volkskrant
Le Mini Who? - by Sabrine Baakman
Le Guess Who? • Facts & Figures 2019
Overall grade for festival experience: 8,8
Would you recommend LGW to friends, family, colleagues or acquaintances?*
“Grown to more than 250 acts across 30 venues in this winning Dutch city, the refreshingly non-corporate LGW Björk - by Tim van Veen
is manageable in crowd sizes but
huge in ambition and experiment; an open-ended, barrier-busting utopian cornucopia.”
Godflesh - by Tim van Veen
Idris Ackamoor - by Jelmer de Haas
Dossier X - by Tim van Veen
Le Guess Who? • Facts & Figures 2019
- MOJO Magazine
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“An overwhelming experience. Great discoveries,
Moon Duo - by Erik Luyten
Le Guess Who? • Facts & Figures 2019
Quotes from our visitors survey: “The programming is ridiculously good;
surprises and acts I never thought I might
acts were equally as diverse as unique, often
like. Plus totally nice and friendly staff,
surprising, and the actual shows are anything
cool venues, good sound, wonderful city.”
between challenging and purely soothing. The atmosphere is amazing too.”
“For anyone who cares about music, it’s one of the best festivals out there, if not the best.
Photo by Jelmer de Haas
Being able to listen to a whole concert without
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a life changing experience. That’s
a single whisper from the audience is
what LGW manages to do.”
met de allure uit de tijd dat de Dom gebouwd werd.” – NRC
Le Guess Who? • Facts & Figures 2019
Aldous Harding - by Jelmer de Haas
“Vier dagen per jaar is Utrecht een wereldstad,
→ In 2019, our Head of Promotion Barry Spooren received the award for Best Marketer, as voted by venues and festivals.
Photo by Nathan Reinds
colleagues of Dutch music
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Le Guess Who? 2019 media → Listen & watch LGW Recordings, incl. Aldous Harding, Ethiopian funk legend Ayalew Mesfin, Efterklang, Girl Band, Jazz drummer Makaya McCraven and Japanese big band Minyo Crusaders
Recordings
Le Guess Who? • Facts & Figures 2019
→
→ Watch: ‘In The Studio with Iris van Herpen & Salvador Breed’, made in collaboration with Dazed
→
→ Watch: Le Guess Who? volunteers share their experiences
→ 10
Video portrait
Video portrait
Thanks to our partners: Funders: Fentener van Vlissingen Fonds, Fonds 21, Fonds Podiumkunsten, Gemeente Utrecht, Het Initiatievenfonds, K.F. Hein Fonds, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, Provincie Utrecht, Stichting Elise Mathilde Fonds, Stichting Utrecht Wereldmuziek, VSBfonds.
Photo by Tess Janssen
BAK – basis voor actuele kunst, Brouwerij De Leckere, Casco Art Institute: Working For The Commons, Centraal Museum, The Creative Independent, Distorted Channel, EKKO, Festival Oude Muziek, Gaudeamus, De Helling, Herman Brood Academy, HKU, IMPAKT, Kapitaal, Kickstarter, De Kromme Haring, Nimeto, Le Bazarre, Louis Hartlooper Complex, No Seat At The Table, Het Productiekantoor, RAUM, SPRING, Springhaver, Stadsschouwburg Utrecht, TivoliVredenburg, Triomf, Universiteit Utrecht, Urban Futures Studio, Utrechtse Boekenbar, Van Lennep Design Agency, Voorkamer, WORM.
Media partners:
“Forward-thinking artists for all over the world convene to share in the rule-breaking.” - Songlines
→
Visit our press archive
3voor12, Bant mag., The Daily Indie, DUIC, FACT, Full Moon Magazine, Gonzo (circus), HHV, The Line of Best Fit, MusicMap Global, Onda Rock, Pan African Music, The Quietus, De Volkskrant, VPRO Vrije Geluiden, WDR Cosmo, WIRE, Zware Metalen.
Le Guess Who? • Facts & Figures 2019
Creative partners:
Social partners: Corderius College, New Faces, Oosterlicht College, Parkschool, VluchtelingenWerk Nederland, De Werkplaats Kindergemeenschap, X11 media & vormgeving.
Venue partners: The Anthony Hotel, Antoniuskerk, BAK – basis voor actuele kunst, BASIS, Brandweerkazerne Schepenbuurt, Casco Art Institute, Centraal Museum, dB’s, EKKO, Filmcafé, FOTODOK, De Havenloods, Jacobikerk, Janskerk, De Helling, Hof van Cartesius, IMPAKT, Instock, Kapitaal, Kopi Susu, LE:EN, Levantine, Molen de Ster, De Nijverheid, Oase, Oproer, Perron West, SPRING, Stadsschouwburg Utrecht, Springhaver, Theater Kikker, TivoliVredenburg, Ubuntuhuis, Universiteit Utrecht, Vlampijpateliers, De Voorkamer, WAS., Werkspoorcafé De Leckere, Wishing Well West.
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“This year’s boundary-crossing festival Le Guess Who? welcomed visitors from over 60 countries
even in times of political divide...
Ayalew Mesfin - by Tim van Veen
Stella Chiweshe portrait by Melanie Marsman
and proved that
...music and art can bring us together into a more hopeful future.” - The Line of Best Fit