Olala

What Olala does

Olala is the International Street Theater & Circus Festival held annually in Lienz, Austria, organized by Verein Ummi Gummi, a non-profit cultural association founded in 1992. The festival brings approximately 40 artist groups from 15 different countries to perform across multiple venues in Lienz, attracting roughly 40,000 visitors annually from neighboring regions, across Austria, and from many parts of Europe. The 2026 edition marks the festival's 35th iteration and runs from July 27 through August 1.

The festival program is structured around two distinct worlds: contemporary circus performances (Monday through Wednesday) staged at the Hochstein Talstation venue, and street theater (Thursday through Saturday) performed throughout Lienz city center. The 2026 theme is "Interaction," with programming explicitly designed to engage the audience. Additional festival components include Olala Magica, a light installation experience held at Schloss Bruck castle, and Olala Specials in Stadtsaal Lienz featuring multi-level shadow theater and acrobatic productions. The festival is described as one of the largest street theater festivals south of the main Alpine ridge.

Olala's revenue model relies primarily on ticket sales distributed through the Eventim Light (oeticket light) online platform, supplemented by public funding from Austrian federal (Bundeskanzleramt), Tirol state (Land Tirol), and Lienz municipal (Stadt Lienz) governments, alongside commercial sponsorships from local and regional businesses such as Sparkasse Lienz, TIWAG, and Lienzer Bergbahnen. Marketing is conducted through the festival website with detailed artist and program information, supplemented by earned media coverage across print, radio, and TV outlets in Austria and Europe. The organization employs between 11 and 50 staff.

Name

Olala

Legal name

Verein Ummi Gummi

Website

https://www.olala.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Olala is an annual international street theater and circus festival held in Lienz, Austria, organized by non-profit Verein Ummi Gummi. The five-day event features ~40 groups from 15 countries and draws ~40,000 visitors annually from across Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts Festival

NAICS

Other Performing Arts Companies (711190)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Circus, Magic & Variety Shows (THAJAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fringe & Experimental Performing Arts (MPAGABAI)

Keywords

• Street theater festival
• Circus festival
• Performing arts events
• Live cultural performance
• Outdoor arts festival

Headquarters

HQ city

Lienz

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Festival Ticket Sales: Primary revenue stream from ticket sales through Eventim Light online ticketing platform for the annual street theater and circus festival.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Olala is an annual international street theater and circus festival organized by the non-profit Verein Ummi Gummi and held in Lienz, Austria. Each edition features approximately 40 artist groups from around 15 countries performing contemporary circus, street theater, light installations, and special ticketed productions across multiple Lienz venues over five days. Access to performances is sold through the Eventim Light online ticketing platform, with select outdoor performances offered free to the public.

Product overview

Olala is an international street theater and circus festival based in Lienz, Austria. The festival operates as a single unified event featuring multiple integrated components: the main Olala Festival (held July 27 - August 1, 2026 for its 35th edition), the circus program with productions like 'Pandax' by Cirque La Compagnie, street theater performances throughout the city, Olala Magica light installations at Schloss Bruck, Olala Specials in Stadtsaal Lienz, and the '30 Bunte Jahre' commemorative picture book. The 2026 festival is structured around two distinct festival worlds: contemporary circus (Monday-Wednesday) and street theater (Thursday-Saturday), with the theme of 'Interaction' focusing on actively engaging the audience in the performances.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bundeskanzleramt (Austrian Federal Chancellery)coreOthersPublic funding body providing governmental support to the festival as part of Austria's cultural funding programs.
• Land Tirol (Tirol State Government)coreOthersState-level public funding for cultural events in the Tirol region.
• Stadt Lienz (Lienz Municipality)coreOthersLocal government providing public funding and venue access for the festival.
• TVB Osttirol (Osttirol Tourism Board)minorOthersRegional tourism board providing support and promotional assistance for the festival.
• Sparkasse LienzminorOthersLocal savings bank as commercial sponsor of the festival.
• FelbertauernstraßeminorOthersLocal business as commercial sponsor.
• TIWAG (Tiroler Wasserkraft)minorOthersTirol energy company as commercial sponsor.
• IDM EnergieminorOthersEnergy company sponsor.
• FrüchtekücheminorOthersLocal business sponsor.
• Lienzer BergbahnenminorOthersLocal cable car company as commercial sponsor.
• JOASTminorOthersCooperation partner.
• TirolmilchminorOthersLocal dairy company as cooperation partner.
• LoackerminorOthersConfectionery company as cooperation partner.
• Pirkner EventsminorOthersEvent company as cooperation partner.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Festival International de Théâtre de Rue d'Aurillac: The largest international street theater festival in Europe, held annually in Aurillac, France. Directly comparable to Olala in core activity (open-air street theater programming), target audience (general public, families, tourists), and revenue model (ticketed plus free outdoor performances supported by public funding).
• La Strada Graz: Austria's leading international street theater and new circus festival, held annually in Graz. Directly comparable as a fellow Austrian street theater + circus festival with public funding, international artist programming, and a comparable per-city attendance scale.
• Theater Spektakel Zürich: International open-air performing arts festival in Zürich featuring street theater, contemporary circus, and dance. Comparable to Olala in artist curation (international companies, free outdoor access), revenue mix (public funders plus sponsors), and product format (multi-venue urban festival).
• Passages Festival (Metz): Biennial international street theater festival held in Metz, France. Comparable to Olala as a curated international street theater event with similar target audience (families, tourists) and dependence on municipal and regional public funding.
• Festival Mondial des Théâtres de Marionnettes (Charleville-Mézières): The world's largest puppet and object theater festival in Charleville-Mézières, France. Comparable to Olala as a large international live performing arts festival focused on non-mainstream theatrical forms, with similar public funding structure and biennial/annual cadence.
• Montréal Complètement Cirque: Annual contemporary circus festival in Montréal featuring international acts. Directly comparable to Olala's circus leg (Mon-Wed at Hochstein Talstation) in artist sourcing, ticketed indoor programming, and target audience seeking new-circus experiences.
• Tollwood Festival (Munich): Twice-yearly Munich festival combining international street theater, circus, music, and culture. Comparable to Olala in mixed indoor/outdoor street theater + circus programming, free-access outdoor strategy, and multi-funder revenue model.
• Buskers Bern: Annual international street performer festival in Bern, Switzerland. Comparable to Olala as a smaller-scale international street theater festival with publicly funded programming and family/tourist audience.
• Festival Cirque Éloize-related / Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain: Paris-based Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain is a leading international contemporary circus competition/festival. Comparable to Olala's circus programming in artist curation model and audience demographic, though framed as a competitive showcase rather than a geographic street festival.

Broad incumbents

• Edinburgh Festival Fringe: The world's largest performing arts festival, encompassing street theater, circus, comedy, and theater. Comparable to Olala's core activity (street theater and circus) but operating at massively greater scale, with a much broader portfolio and a more global audience.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Olala