Now in its 15th edition, themed “The Ritual of Dance,” the biennial festival attracted a hundred therapists, split equally between Portuguese and international professionals, with 60% of the massage appointments booked online before the festival began.
Official data provided to the news agency reveals that all massages were fully booked on the opening day, and by the second day, all therapies were also sold out.
Among the artists present were Android Jones, who crafted the identity for this edition.
Dadara painted new murals as part of the “Love Has no Flags” campaign, aimed at ending prejudices against diversity in gender, race, and religion in love.
Daniel Popper showcased his latest large-scale public art piece, “Dancer,” standing 12 meters tall and taking six weeks to assemble.
Artist Michael Benesty introduced another large-scale piece, marking his second contribution to Boomland.
Portuguese artist RAM also created a large-scale statue, located near The Gardens.
Boom Festival dedicated an area exclusively for the 557 children present, aged up to 14, named the Young Dragons zone, which hosted daily activities from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
The chosen areas were “Dragons avenue,” dedicated to body activities, dance, theater, music, and yoga, and “Tree of Life,” focusing on plastic and artistic activities.
In the latter, workshops were held on circus skills, short films, stop motion, origami, pottery, and material reuse (such as fans made from old tent fabrics).
The children’s space also included lagoon activities for younger children and the “Family camp,” where animation films were screened every night at 9:30 p.m.
Boomland featured 538 compost toilets, 401 eco-points, and two water treatment stations for showers.
The organizers highlight that these toilets represent one of the festival’s most sustainable measures, enhancing water conservation by eliminating flush systems and utilizing the compost produced.
“The compost extracted from the toilets at the festival’s conclusion is of high quality, according to analyses by certified institutions like the Escola Superior Agrária de Castelo Branco,” stated the organizers.
Regarding waste management, recycling points are scattered throughout the festival, including in public areas, production zones, workshops, and backstage.
“Materials are subsequently sorted and placed in appropriate containers. These structures are also used during pre-production for depositing plastics, metals, cardboard, glass, batteries, oils, paints, aerosols, and various other materials,” explained the organization.
Valnor regularly collects, conducts a detailed final screening, and recycles these materials.
“All materials are repurposed by Valnor, including compostable waste like plates and cutlery, and non-recyclable waste, which is used for biomass,” added the organizers.
The Boom Festival initiated a reforestation project in 2015, planting over a thousand trees and various shrub species since then.
“In 2023, ash trees, linden trees, olives, and poplars were planted, among others. To enrich the dry meadow, shrubs such as rosemary, mint, blueberry, thyme, and arbutus were added,” stated the organizers.
The association IdanhaCulta is responsible for the Forest Management Unit of Herdade da Granja, where Boomland is located.
