Lakelive Festival

What Lakelive Festival does

Lakelive Festival is an annual 10-day open-air music and cultural festival held on the shores of Lake Biel (Bielersee) in Biel/Bienne and Nidau, Canton of Bern, Switzerland. Operated by Lakelive GmbH — a Swiss private limited company (GmbH, CHE-250.411.487) — with end-to-end organization handled by Eventra Sàrl, a bilingual Biel/Bienne-based event agency, the festival runs in late July / early August and serves Swiss and international festival-goers aged 14+ with a multi-genre lineup spanning rock, pop, hip-hop, electronic, Latin, afrobeat, amapiano and dancehall across a Mainstage and a Circus Stage, plus a dedicated Lakelive Kids Openair program, sports activities, variety acts, food and beverage stalls, and a market. Its core products are the Passepartout (full-festival), Day, and Weekend Pass tickets distributed via Ticketcorner (official primary partner) and See Tickets, supported by a WordPress-based marketing and ticketing website hosted in Switzerland by Nine Internet Solutions AG.

The business model blends event-driven direct-to-consumer revenue (advance ticket sales, on-site F&B with a CHF 2.00 deposit/refund scheme, vendor and stand fees from food/non-food operators) with B2B sponsorship income from a layered partner stack: a presenting partner (HENA Music), main sponsors (Coop, Raiffeisen, Heineken Switzerland), co-sponsors, media partners (SRF 3, Energy Bern, Canal 3, Ajour, RJB, RFJ, Radio Bern 1, Radio 32), and a Supporter Club of 100+ member companies. Go-to-market is purely event-driven and multi-channel: organic social (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify), owned email/newsletter, PR through media partners, and a printed festival booklet — there is no app product, no public pricing disclosure, and no mobile distribution beyond the partner ticketing platforms.

The permanent organization is intentionally lean — 7 employees — supplemented by approximately 700 seasonal staff during the festival window across security, hospitality, production, media, gastronomy, infrastructure, infopoint, sport, culture, social media and VIP functions. Founded in 2018, Lakelive has held editions in 2018, 2019, 2022 (post-COVID return), 2023, 2024, and 2025, with the 2026 edition announced for July 30 – August 8, 2026. The entity is privately held, with no parent company, subsidiaries, or external funding rounds disclosed in the source material.

Name

Lakelive Festival

Legal name

Lakelive GmbH

Website

https://lakelive.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lakelive Festival is a 10-day annual open-air music and cultural festival held in Biel/Bienne-Nidau, Switzerland, operated by Lakelive GmbH and organized by Eventra Sàrl, serving Swiss and international festival-goers and corporate sponsors via ticketing (Ticketcorner, See Tickets), sponsorships, food and beverage sales, and vendor fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Music Festivals / Open-Air Entertainment

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (711310)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Adventure & Aerial Parks (Ropes Courses, Zipline Parks, Climbing Parks) (THAJAEAI)

Keywords

• Music festival events
• Live concert entertainment
• Open-air cultural events
• Festival ticketing services
• Sponsorship marketing events

Headquarters

HQ city

Biel/Bienne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: The festival generates primary revenue through ticket sales via their website and official ticket partner Ticketcorner. Ticket types include Passepartout (full festival access), Day tickets, and Weekend Passes. Tickets must be exchanged for control wristbands at official cash desks.
2. Food & Beverage Sales: On-site food and beverage sales through various stands and bars. A deposit of CHF 2.00 is charged on each purchased drink and refunded at bars and drink stands.
3. Sponsorship & Partnership: Revenue generated through sponsorship arrangements with presenting partner (HENA Music), main sponsors (Coop, Raiffeisen, Heineken), co-sponsors, media partners, and supporter club members.
4. Vendor/Stand Fees: Fees collected from stand operators (food and non-food vendors) who operate on the festival grounds based on written contracts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Lakelive Festival is an annual 10-day open-air music and cultural festival held on the shores of Lake Biel (Bielersee) in Biel-Bienne/Nidau, Switzerland. It sells admission through Passepartout, Day, and Weekend Pass tickets via its own website and official partners Ticketcorner and See Tickets, and operates a Mainstage, Circus Stage, Lakelive Variete, sport offerings, and the Lakelive Kids Openair program. The festival generates revenue from ticket sales, on-site food and beverage sales, vendor/stand fees, and a multi-tier sponsorship and supporter-club program.

Product overview

Lakelive Festival is an annual multi-day open-air music and cultural festival held in Biel-Bienne/Nidau, Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Biel (Bielersee). The event features a main stage (Mainstage) hosting international and national headliners, a circus stage (Circus Stage) with DJ/production music programming (Electronic Sunset, Hip-Hop, Latin, Disco), food and market stalls, a variety program (Lakelive Variete), sport offerings, and a dedicated Lakelive Kids Openair section for children. The festival is organized by Lakelive GmbH and Eventra Sàrl, with ticketing handled through Ticketcorner and See Tickets. The 2026 edition runs July 30 – August 8, 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lakelive Festival The main annual open-air music and cultural festival held over 10 days at Lake Biel (Bielersee) in Biel-Bienne/Nidau, Switzerland, featuring international and national artists across a Mainstage and a Circus Stage, plus food and beverage stands, sport offerings, and cultural programming.
• Lakelive Kids Openair A dedicated open-air music and activity program for children, part of the broader Lakelive Festival offering and tailored for families attending the festival.
• Passepartout (Full Festival Ticket) Full-festival passepartout ticket granting access to all 10 days of the Lakelive Festival (e.g., 30.07.2026 to 08.08.2026). Sold via the festival website and ticket partners Ticketcorner and See Tickets.
• Day Ticket (Tagesticket) Single-day admission ticket granting access to one selected day of the Lakelive Festival, distributed via the festival website, Ticketcorner, and See Tickets.
• Weekend Pass Multi-day weekend admission ticket granting access to the festival over a selected weekend period (typically two consecutive days), sold alongside the Passepartout and Day tickets.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• HENA MusiccoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting partner of Lakelive Festival 2026. HENA Music is a music-related company that serves as the primary presenting sponsor of the festival.
• CoopcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMain sponsor of Lakelive Festival. Coop is a major Swiss retail company providing significant sponsorship support.
• RaiffeisencoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMain sponsor of Lakelive Festival. Raiffeisen is a Swiss banking group providing financial sponsorship.
• Heineken SwitzerlandcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMain sponsor of Lakelive Festival, providing beverage sponsorship.
• Eventra SàrlcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe bilingual event agency from Biel/Bienne is responsible for the organization of the Lakelive Festival. Eventra brings its experience and local roots to ensure the festival is an unforgettable experience each year.
• TicketcornercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial ticket partner of Lakelive Festival, handling primary ticket distribution for all ticket categories (Passepartout, Day tickets, Weekend Pass).
• SRF 3coreGTM or Marketing PartnerMain media partner. SRF 3 is a Swiss public radio station providing media coverage and promotion.
• Energy BerncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMain media partner. Energy Bern is a Swiss radio station providing media coverage.
• Biel/BiennecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerHost city of Lakelive Festival. The city of Biel/Bienne is a key partner providing venue and regional support.
• NidaucoreGTM or Marketing PartnerHost municipality. Nidau is a partner municipality hosting portions of the festival grounds.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Montreux Jazz Festival: One of the world's most established music festivals, held annually on Lake Geneva. Comparable in lakeside Swiss setting and multi-genre programming, but operates at a far larger scale and a premium tier that overlaps with Lakelive's premium ticketing and corporate hospitality segments.
• Baloise Session: Long-running ticketed music event held in Basel, sponsored by Baloise insurance. Comparable in premium ticketing and corporate sponsorship model, but operates indoors in a venue rather than as an open-air festival.

Direct peers

• Paléo Festival Nyon: Largest open-air music festival in Switzerland, held annually in Nyon. Direct competitor for international headliner bookings, sponsors, and Swiss festival-goers, with significantly larger scale (six-day, ~250k attendees) but similar direct-to-consumer ticketing and multi-stage model.
• Greenfield Festival: Annual rock and metal-focused open-air festival in Interlaken, Switzerland. Competes with Lakelive for rock-adjacent programming and regional Swiss-German festival audiences.
• OpenAir St. Gallen: Major annual open-air music festival in St. Gallen, Switzerland, featuring international headliners. Competes directly with Lakelive for artist bookings, sponsor budgets, and Deutschschweiz festival audiences over a similar summer window.
• Gurtenfestival: Long-running Swiss open-air music festival held on the Gurten hill near Bern. Operates as a multi-day event with a comparable lineup strategy mixing international and Swiss German-language acts, and is geographically proximate to Lakelive's Bern-region audience.
• Zurich Openair: Multi-day open-air music festival in Zurich featuring international headliners and electronic programming. Direct competitor for German-speaking Swiss festival attendees and electronic/hip-hop Circus Stage-style programming.
• Heitere Open Air: Annual open-air festival in Zofingen, Switzerland, with comparable multi-genre programming and similar size to Lakelive. Direct competitor for mid-tier Swiss festival audiences and sponsor relationships.

Others

• Eventra Sàrl: Bilingual Biel/Bienne event agency that serves as Lakelive's operational and organizational partner. Closely tied to the festival through the 'We to Them' partnership, with shared regional event knowledge and local supplier relationships that are directly comparable to the operational backbone of festival execution.

Regional players

• Stars in Town: Summer music festival held in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Smaller and more regionally focused than Lakelive, but operates an analogous multi-day festival-with-headliners model in a different Swiss geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@eventralivemarketing
• Facebookfacebook.com/lakelivefestival
• Instagraminstagram.com/lakelivefestival
• TikToktiktok.com/@lakelivefestival
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lakelive-festival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Lakelive Festival