Community impact

Launched by founder Perry Farrell in 1991 as a touring festival, Lollapalooza remains an  innovator in festival culture over 30 years later. Lollapalooza was the first festival to bring together artists from a wide range of musical genres on one bill, it was also the first to travel, the first to expand to multiple days, the first to introduce a second stage, the first to  blend art and activism, the first to offset its carbon emissions, the first to put electronic music artists on the main stage, the first to create family friendly programming, the first to  make its home in an urban city center and the first to expand internationally. 

Lollapalooza has grown into an annual world-class festival in Chicago (2005), as well as  culturally rich countries including Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, France, Sweden and India. Lollapalooza is one of the premier music destinations for music fans in the United States and abroad. The Chicago edition features more than 170 bands on 8 stages during  four full days of music. 

Lollapalooza observed its 30th anniversary in 2021, celebrating its enduring success as a  powerhouse global festival brand.

Programs

Lollapalooza’s contribution to the City of Chicago leads all festivals in the region. While the festival takes place over a four-day weekend in the summer, organizers strive to deliver meaningful engagement programs and create positive impacts in the city year-round.

Chicago public schools

$2.2 million donation for arts education programs in CPS for 5 years

5-year partnership with Ingenuity for schools with little or no arts programming - schools are selected based on extensive research conducted by Ingenuity
Various grant sizes that span 1 to 3 years
Grants fund new arts programs, new arts spaces in schools, and training for arts  teachers

Grant park

$500,000 donation toward Grant Park Tennis and Pickleball Court Project

Fully funded Chicago Park District’s initiative to build new pickleball courts and refurbish existing tennis courts in the south end of Grant Park
Supported the redevelopment of 6 existing tennis courts and the development of 32 dedicated pickleball courts

Lollapalooza & Sueños Job Fair

Free festival job fair and trainings for Chicagoans

Features dozens of festival departments and Lolla vendors hiring for festival positions
Highlight industry pathways through workshops, panel discussions, and keynotes
Free and open to the public but catered toward City Colleges of Chicago students
Committed to expanding opportunities for Chicago’s young people of color - 80% of attendees are Black and Brown

Lolla u

New program at Kennedy King College aims to increase access to live music industries

College program focused on entertainment business and festival production
Culminates at Lollapalooza, with panel discussions led by Lollapalooza staff and industry leaders
Gives southside students the tools and access needed to jump start careers in live music

After school matters

Showcase art by ASM graphic design and mural classes at Lolla

Funded 5 After School Matters x Lolla programs since 2022
Programs allow youth to develop artistic skills and showcase their work at Lollapalooza
Teens receive stipends for their contributions to the festival
2 mural programs and 3 graphic design programs

Tip fest

Funded the stage for Chicago Park District’s Teens in the Park Fest

TIP Fest is the largest platform for Chicago youth to showcase their art
Annual donation to fund stage since 2023 - consult on production, shared tips with organizers
Top 3 TIP Fest winners will perform at Lollapalooza

other donations

Other donations include: Black Culture Week, Adler Planetarium, NAMI Chicago, and the Police Memorial Fund

SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS

Lollapalooza, an Illinois Sustainability Award recipient, is committed to sustainable festival practices in the field, behind the scenes and through the preservation of the ever-beautiful Grant Park. This commitment is integrated into every area of the park, from recycling and composting to eco-friendly service items at Chow Town, and Hydration Stations that provide patrons free, filtered water, diverting millions of plastic bottles from the landfill. Additionally, Lollapalooza uses biodiesel for all generators and equipment and funds renewable energy projects through carbon offset purchases.

In addition, Lolla is working to redirect materials away from Chicago's landfills. This year, we are partnering with Rebuilding Exchange whose mission is focused on workforce training for the Chicagoland community members. These materials will be collected and made available to the local community to promote positive change, and a better quality of life for our neighbors. In 2024 alone, close to 22,000 pounds of material was recovered and reused through this program.

In 2024, Lollapalooza made history as the first major U.S. festival to use a hybrid battery system for the main stage, including all audio, lighting, video and stage production, minimizing the run time of biodiesel generators providing significant fuel and emissions savings while furthering the commitment to its ever-expanding sustainability efforts.

PHILANTHROPIC PARTNERSHIPS

RE:WILD

World-renowned global music festival Lollapalooza has elevated its commitment to the environment through a new partnership with leading global organization, Re:wild. Across the world, Lollapalooza festivals will support Re:wild and its local partners in a variety of ways, including sharing environmental education through festival messaging channels, providing space on festival grounds for Re:wild partners to speak directly with music fans, and through direct financial support of Re:wild projects. With education as a primary means of positive change, fans can learn more about how to rewild their daily lives and communities via https://lolla.rewild.org.

THIS MUST BE THE PLACE

Lollapalooza strives to continually update and evolve our safety and security protocols, which includes education and preventative measures to keep people safe. With this in mind, we are partnering with This Must Be the Place, an overdose prevention nonprofit, who will educate music fans about the dangers of Fentanyl and supply them with the life-saving opioid reversal medicine, Naloxone, commonly known as Narcan. We encourage fans to stop by their booth at the festival and learn more.

In 2024 alone, This Must Be the Place distributed more than 40,000 Naloxone kits across 22 festivals produced by C3 Presents.

ECONOMIC IMPACT TO THE CITY OF CHICAGO

Lollapalooza 2024 generated more than $440 million for Chicago’s economy. In addition to a direct rent payment of $9.8 million to the Chicago Park District, Lollapalooza is estimated to have generated $7.18 million in amusement tax revenue. Since event organizers began tracking economic impact in 2010, Lollapalooza has generated more than $3.2 billion for the Chicago economy and has retained the equivalent of more than 25,000 jobs for regional employees.