Refurbishment costs more

Inflation poses challenges for the Festival

"The inflation-related cost increases of the last two years are as high as those of the last eight years combined," said Lukas Crepaz, Commercial Director of the Salzburg Festival, at the Board of Trustees meeting on Friday.

Specifically, this poses obstacles for the major construction project "Festival District 2030" in particular: The cost estimate from 2019 cannot be maintained under the given circumstances.

It has therefore now been decided to revise the preliminary design. At the same time, negotiations are being held with the federal government, the state and the city to finance the extraordinary valorization. The newly revised preliminary draft should be available in late fall 204 and discussed by the Board of Trustees.

However, the planned start of construction of the mega project will not change for the time being. It will still take place in September 2024. The first stage is the construction of the Festival Center on Herbert-von-Karajan-Platz near the Schüttkasten. This is being financed entirely privately by Festival friend and supporter Hans-Peter Wild.