Sónar Festival CEO François Jozic addresses 2025 boycott, says program must “evolve” to stay relevant

Sónar Festival CEO François Jozic said the Barcelona electronic-music and media event is not trying to preserve an older version of itself in response to the 2025 boycott. In an interview published June 18, 2026, Jozic described Sónar as an institution that must continue to change, saying, “Sónar is not something frozen in the past,” and adding that it “must evolve” and “must anticipate new trends.”

Jozic’s comments addressed a question of audience expectations after the 2025 boycott, which according to the interview shaped discussions about what kind of atmosphere the festival should offer. He characterized the goal as creating what he described as a “safe space,” framing it as an environment intended to be more welcoming for attendees who want the event to feel attentive to how crowds experience culture and public settings.

The interview also suggested that some part of the 2025 boycott’s impact may be long-lasting for at least some audience members. Jozic said the festival must accept that “some fans may not return,” indicating that changes aimed at improving the attendee experience may not bring back everyone who stayed away during or after the controversy.

Jozic’s remarks positioned Sónar’s operational and programming approach as an exercise in ongoing adjustment rather than a one-time correction. He said the festival needs to anticipate shifts in audience behavior and in the broader culture around electronic music, media, and live events, rather than simply respond after a dispute has already spread through public discussion.

While the interview emphasizes the idea of evolution and accommodation, it also reflects a management perspective on organizational continuity. The CEO’s framing implies that maintaining the festival’s identity requires changes that can coexist with established roots, rather than returning to a prior format that different groups may interpret differently.

For attendees and industry participants, the next practical question is how Sónar will translate those aims into visible policies, programming decisions, and audience conduct standards at future editions of the festival. In the interview, Jozic did not describe specific rule changes or new enforcement mechanisms, but he tied the “safe space” concept and the acknowledgement that some attendees may not come back to an ongoing effort to shape the festival’s environment going forward.

The interview arrives during a period when high-profile music and arts events continue to confront public debate over what “safe spaces” mean in practice, who sets those expectations, and how institutions respond when audiences choose to boycott. Jozic’s comments make clear that Sónar’s leadership sees those debates as part of the festival’s longer-term evolution, not as a finite dispute to be resolved once.

As Sónar prepares for its next editions, the interview’s central themes are continuity through change: evolving programming to match new trends, attempting to build a safer and more welcoming audience setting, and accepting that the 2025 boycott may have altered the festival’s relationship with at least some fans. The public record of what those choices look like in policy terms will likely become clearer in official festival updates and attendee-facing materials closer to future dates.