Abstract

In February-March 2020, Covid-19 stopped all cultural events, until mid-June 2020, when indoor and outdoor venues could resume their activity, albeit with many restrictions, from environmental sanitation measures to social distancing for the audience and the artists. It was a great economic, organizational and aesthetic challenge. Curators had the choice to move online, to cancel the 2020 edition or to postpone their events in the Fall- Winter. Using a database of more than 1000 Italian festival in different fields (visual arts, cinema, music, performing arts, books and culture), the essay examines the impact of Covid-19 on cultural festivals, and the different strategies used by programmers.