Barely a year after its debut, Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek has attracted strategic investment from Arena Holdings, one of South Africa’s largest media and entertainment companies, through its Music Arena division.
For a festival entering only its second year, backing of this scale is a strong signal that reflects a global shift toward live, place-based cultural experiences as serious growth assets. The same shift is reflected in a recorded-music economy that, according to the IFPI, grew 4.8% in 2024 to $29.6 billion, with live experience becoming the sector’s growing edge.
Festivals are infrastructure; the platform on which musicians, technicians, designers, chefs, hospitality workers, producers and small suppliers build livelihoods and rare skills. An investment in a live festival is an investment in the whole chain beneath it.
The Montreux Jazz Festival Franschoek’s inaugural edition, held in March 2026 in the Franschhoek Wine Valley, brought together nearly 40 South African and international artists. Among them were Róisín Murphy, Robert Glasper, Bilal, Thandiswa Mazwai, Mandisi Dyantyis and Kesivan Naidoo’s amaBig Band Experience, in a programme combining music with food, wine, art and hospitality, all set against the iconic backdrop of Franschhoek.
For Managing Director, Philip Beardwood, that debut proved a thesis about what audiences are now looking for. “When you bring together the legacy of a globally respected cultural institution with the energy, originality and creative confidence coming out of Africa right now, something incredibly powerful happens,” he said. “Audiences responded to the honesty of that exchange. Artists felt it too. There’s a real appetite for experiences that are curated with intention, depth and a strong sense of place.”
Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek Founder and President, Mark Goedvolk, sees the deal as evidence of how fast that opportunity is being recognised. “What began as an ambitious idea has very quickly become something with genuine international resonance,” he said. “For a festival entering only its second iteration to attract this level of strategic partnership speaks to both the quality of the experience and the opportunity that exists for culturally driven events emerging from Africa.”
The partnership connects the live platform to the recorded-music economy around it, Music Arena also holds Gallo Record Company, Gallo Music Publishers and a pan-African distribution network. “We are proud to partner with a festival already showing strong creative vision and momentum,” said Music Arena CEO, Antos Stella. “This collaboration aligns with our commitment to supporting music platforms that contribute to the growth of South Africa’s cultural and creative industries.”
The Festival’s licensing agreement with the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland remains unchanged, the original creative team continues under Beardwood, and presenting partner Nedbank remains in place. Planning for the 2027 edition, from 19–21 March, is well underway.
Thierry Amsallem, President of the Claude Nobs Foundation and member of the Montreux Jazz Festival Foundation Board, shared his experience of the first African edition: “What you accomplished with this first edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival South Africa is remarkable. The production was incredible; everything ran like a dream, as if you were already on your tenth edition. The programming was fantastic, every musical moment a discovery or a confirmation. But beyond the technical and artistic excellence, what touched me most is that the spirit of Montreux was truly there. You understood it deeply and carried it with an authenticity and generosity that command admiration. What a joy, what a pride to have experienced this first edition in South Africa! You should be immensely proud of what you have built. This is only the beginning, and what a beginning!
Festival Dates 2027: 19–21 March
