TED Talks: David Binder on The Power of Festivals

When festivals do it right, they bring individuals, communities, and even entire cities, closer together.




"Festivals promote diversity," Binder says. "They bring neighbors into dialogue, they increase creativity, they offer opportunities for civic pride, they improve our general psychological well-being. In short, they make cities better places to live."

In a heartwarming talk on the Sydney Festival in Australia, the acclaimed Broadway producer David Binder explains how an entire city finds communal ownership in a tiny Australian neighborhood theater project called Minto Live. During Minto Live, the attendees travel from house to house to view autobiographical performances put on by the residents of each home they visit; this unique format brings the city's neighborhoods closer together through shared experience and joyous, meaningful participation.

Beyond the bright lights and the roar of the crowds, there’s something special brewing inside the melting pot of festival culture. Some say it’s a social revolution. Others look at it as a spiritual awakening of sorts. Whatever it is, brilliant academics are talking about the larger impact festivals have on the world, which we explore in Festie TED Talks.

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