Welcome to Klarnival! Klarna launches week-long virtual festival
Klarna announces support for the UK’s music industry to amplify voices of gigging musicians, bring the festival spirit to UK consumers and to raise vital funds for ‘Help Musicians
Gutted about Glasto, bummed about Bestival, longing for Latitude? Fear not, Klarna, the leading global payments and shopping service is excited to announce their first virtual festival – Klarnival (20th-23rd August). Celebrating the performing arts industry and the UK’s passion for homegrown talent and festivals, Klarna is bringing that festival feeling straight into the comfort of your home.
With the music industry one of the last sectors able to reopen due to the COVID-19 crisis, many singers and musicians are in need of support. Klarna is proud to support independent UK charity ‘Help Musicians’ which provides help and opportunities to musicians during times of crisis and at crucial points throughout their careers.
To champion the best of gigging musicians in the country, Klarna invited musicians to take part in the virtual festival. Receiving hundreds of applications, the team selected 20 bands or solo artists to provide the soundtrack to Klarnival across a variety of genres. Broadcast via Instagram and Facebook Live, each musician will produce a 20 min set, for which they are paid and Klarna will make a donation to the ‘Help Musicians’ charity.
Artists performing include The Kings Parade known for their Motown soul mixed with melodic pop; Harleighblu, dubbed the new queen of hip hop soul by BBC Radio 1; and Greg Pearson who supported Lewis Capaldi on his last international tour along with singers, musicians and performers from a mix of genres and professions across the industry.
In addition to the music, for a true festival experience, Klarnival will host themed events, competitions and masterclasses across beauty, fashion, outdoors and tech.
Events include:
● A step-by-step guide to festival worthy eye make-up with Morphe
● Festival styling masterclasses with an expert Fashion Stylist, from New Look
● How to transform your garden into a VIP worthy glamping experience with Go Outdoors and Comet
Commenting on the campaign, Help Musicians said:
“Music has kept so many of us going recently, yet tens of thousands of musicians have had their income all but wiped out. It is wonderful to see creative initiatives like ‘Klarnival’ providing opportunities for musicians and every penny raised means Help Musicians is able to reach more musicians with not only financial hardship support, but also creative development opportunities and a boosted mental health service in such difficult times.”
AJ Coyne, Head of Consumer Marketing at Klarna, commented: ”We are delighted to be working with our merchants and Help Musicians to support the music industry. Music and festivals is a huge passion point for our audience and they’re gutted that IRL festivals are cancelled for the foreseeable. Klarnival has been developed to give back to both the music industry and Klarna consumers, by providing them with a unique experience, packed with exclusive content, including a fantastic line-up of talented artists directly into their homes.”