Poolbar Festival

What Poolbar Festival does

Poolbar Festival is an annual music and cultural festival operated by Poolbar Kultur gGmbH, a non-profit limited liability company (gemeinnützige GmbH) headquartered in Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, Austria. Founded in 1997 and approaching its 30th edition in 2026 (scheduled July 8 – August 16 at Altes Hallenbad + Reichenfeld), it presents concerts, DJ sets, jazz brunches, film screenings, and quiz events (the Wednesday Poolquiz, running since 2003, draws approximately 800 participants per session) for a broad audience of regional Austrian, Liechtenstein, Swiss, and German visitors around the Lake Constance region. The festival is distinguished by its annual radical architectural redesign tradition, in which designers symbolically 'demolish' each year's temporary architecture to justify entirely new designs, executed through the Generator workshop laboratory — a five-discipline program in 2026 (Light Art, Music, Architecture, Mural Art, Language) involving dozens of students and creative professionals from regional and Vienna-based institutions including vai, TU Wien, 1zu1 Prototypen, Stella Vorarlberg, and Fachhochschule Vorarlberg. A companion year-round program, the Raumfahrtprogramm (launched 2019), activates unused urban spaces outside the festival window, and an annual Ticketliteratur literary supplement is distributed with tickets.

The underlying technology stack is intentionally lightweight and consumer-grade: a public website hosted on Vercel, an online shop (tickets.poolbar.at) for single tickets, festival passes, weekly tickets, vouchers, and merchandise running on Stripe payment processing under PCI-DSS compliance, plus official native iOS (iOS 15.1+) and Android (6.0+) mobile applications providing personal timetable building, calendar integration, and artist information. There is no proprietary AI, no ML pipeline, and no public API or SDK offering. Distribution is multi-channel: a proprietary e-commerce storefront plus the Ö-Ticket/Eventim third-party ticketing platform for resale, an on-site box office at the venue, and a broad ecosystem of media partners including Radio FM4, Ö3, ORF Vorarlberg, Antenne Vorarlberg, Der Standard, and Vorarlberger Nachrichten. An annual print Poolbar Magazine is distributed to ticket holders.

The business model combines four revenue streams: (1) ticket sales (single, daily, weekly passes, and group tickets for 10 persons) priced via transaction-based take rates, (2) merchandise sales through the online shop, (3) sponsorship and partner contributions from nine Hauptsponsoren (Vorarlberger Raiffeisenbanken, Rauch, Red Bull Organics, Fohrenburger Bier, Omicron, Illwerke vkw, Gasteiner Infinity, BAT/VELO, The Green Mountain) plus a deep Werbung partner stack, and (4) on-site gastronomy revenue operated by named beverage and food vendors (Fohrenburg, Pernod Ricard, Rauch, Amann, COFFEE-TIME, Lisilis Biohof, Bäckerei Mangold). As a non-profit the company also draws substantial public subsidies from Stadt Feldkirch (across Kultur, Jugend, and Abfallwirtschaft), Stadt Hohenems, Land Vorarlberg, the Austrian Federal Ministry (Bundesministerium für Wohnen, Kunst, Kultur, Medien und Sport), Liechtenstein's cultural ministry, and Kulturstiftung Liechtenstein. Pricing for individual tickets is not publicly disclosed; seasonal positions pay €13.00 gross/hour for stagehands and €12.00 gross/hour for cleaning staff.

Name

Poolbar Festival

Legal name

Poolbar Kultur gGmbH

Website

https://poolbar.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Poolbar Festival is an annual music and cultural festival operated by the non-profit Poolbar Kultur gGmbH in Feldkirch, Austria (founded 1997), serving regional Austrian, Liechtenstein, Swiss, and German audiences with concerts, design workshops, and year-round cultural programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Music & Cultural Festivals

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Music Festival Organizers & Promoters (MPAGAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cultural & Community Festivals (Ticketed) (THAJAFAI)

Keywords

• Music festival events
• Cultural programming
• Live music concerts
• Festival ticketing services
• Multidisciplinary arts

Headquarters

HQ city

Feldkirch

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from the sale of single-event tickets, festival passes, weekly tickets, and group tickets. Online sales through tickets.poolbar.at and third-party platform Ö-Ticket/Eventim. Ticket categories include single tickets, day tickets, and group tickets (valid for 10 persons).
2. Merchandise Sales: Sale of festival merchandise through the online shop.
3. Sponsorship and Partner Contributions: Financial and in-kind support from main sponsors (Vorarlberger Raiffeisenbanken, Rauch, Red Bull Organics, Fohrenburger Bier, Omicron, Illwerke vkw, Gasteiner Infinity, BAT/VELO, The Green Mountain), as well as advertising partners and public subsidy from municipalities and government bodies (Stadt Feldkirch, Stadt Hohenems, Land Vorarlberg, Bundesministerium für Wohnen, Kunst, Kultur, Medien und Sport).
4. Gastronomy Revenue: On-site food and beverage sales managed through multiple gastronomy partner vendors including Rauch Fruchtsäfte, COFFEE-TIME, Amann Kaffee, Fohrenburg, Red Bull, The Green Mountain, Pernod Ricard brands, and others.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Poolbar Festival is an annual multidisciplinary music and cultural festival held in summer at the Altes Hallenbad venue in Feldkirch, Austria, featuring concerts, DJ sets, art installations, literary programming, and a weekly Poolquiz event. The festival is operated by the non-profit Poolbar Kultur gGmbH and is supported by the Generator workshop lab, the Raumfahrt off-season program, and a Ticketliteratur literary supplement. It generates revenue through ticket sales (single tickets, festival passes, weekly tickets, group tickets), merchandise, on-site gastronomy, corporate sponsorships, and public cultural subsidies.

Product overview

Poolbar Festival is a cultural and music festival operated by Poolbar Kultur gGmbH, held annually at the Altes Hallenbad in Feldkirch, Austria. The festival operates primarily as an in-person event with a complementary mobile application. The festival includes multiple venues and spaces including the Pool area (with 360-person capacity), Open Air stage, Wohnzimmer (living room lounge), and Wiese Reichenfeld (meadow). Associated programs include the Generator (a design/architecture workshop lab) and Raumfahrt (satellite cultural programming). An online shop provides ticket sales for single tickets, festival passes, weekly tickets, and merchandise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Generator: Annual laboratory for festival design where participants from art, design, architecture, language and lighting technology create the annual festival design through an intensive workshop week.
• Raumfahrtprogramm

Products and services

• Poolbar Festival (annual music and cultural festival) Annual summer music and cultural festival held at the Altes Hallenbad venue in Feldkirch, Austria, featuring concerts, DJ sets, art installations, film screenings, jazz brunch, Poolquiz events, and literary programming. Open to individual festival-goers and culture enthusiasts from the Vorarlberg region, broader Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Germany.
• Poolbar Festival Tickets (Einzeltickets, Festivalpass, Wochentickets, Gutscheine) Categorized ticket products for the Poolbar Festival: single event tickets (Einzeltickets), full festival pass (Festivalpass), weekly tickets (Wochentickets), and gift vouchers (Gutscheine). Sold via the proprietary online shop (tickets.poolbar.at) and through Ö-Ticket/Eventim.
• Poolbar Festival Merchandise Poolbar Festival-branded merchandise sold through the online shop for individual consumers and ticket holders.
• Poolbar Festival Mobile App Official free mobile application for the Poolbar Festival for iOS and Android, allowing attendees to create personal timetables, integrate events into their device calendar, view artist information, and access festival news and artistic features. Open to individual festival attendees.
• Generator Workshop Program Annual multidisciplinary workshop program recruiting students and professionals from art, design, architecture, music, and technology disciplines to create the annual festival design, architecture, and artistic installations through an intensive workshop week. Participants contribute creative labor in exchange for workshop experience.
• Raumfahrtprogramm (Space Travel Off-Season Program) Year-round mobile cultural program using vacant or unconventional urban spaces for discussions, workshops, performances, and participatory events, maintaining community engagement between festival editions. Generally free entry.
• Ticketliteratur (Literary Supplement) Annual literary supplement featuring commissioned texts from regional writers, produced in collaboration with literatur:vorarlberg netzwerk and distributed alongside tickets to festival attendees.
• Poolbar Magazine Annual physical magazine publication of the Poolbar Festival, distributed to ticket holders and made available through the website.

Quantifiable outcome

• ~800 participants per Poolquiz Wednesday event (since 2003)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

52 partnerships are on record, tiered primary, core and minor.

• Vorarlberger RaiffeisenbankenprimaryGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a main sponsor (Hauptsponsor) of Poolbar Festival, providing financial and marketing support.
• RauchprimaryGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a main sponsor of Poolbar Festival. Rauch Fruchtsäfte (fruit juices) also listed under gastronomy partners.
• Red Bull OrganicsprimaryGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a main sponsor of Poolbar Festival. Red Bull also listed under gastronomy partners.
• Fohrenburger BierprimaryGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a main sponsor and gastronomy partner of Poolbar Festival.
• OmicronprimaryGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a main sponsor of Poolbar Festival. Also appears under advertising partners.
• Illwerke vkwprimaryGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a main sponsor of Poolbar Festival. Also appears under advertising partners.
• Gasteiner InfinityprimaryGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a main sponsor and gastronomy partner (beverages) of Poolbar Festival.
• BAT / VELOprimaryGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a main sponsor of Poolbar Festival. Also appears under gastronomy partners.
• The Green MountainprimaryGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a main sponsor and gastronomy partner of Poolbar Festival, providing plant-based food offerings.
• Stadt Feldkirch / JugendcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed under Organisation & Infrastruktur partners. Stadt Feldkirch (municipality) also appears under Kultur and Subvention (subsidy) categories.
• Kulturstiftung LiechtensteincoreGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Förderung (funding) partners. Provides cultural foundation funding support to the festival.
• AKM - Autoren, Komponisten, MusikverlegercoreOthersListed under Förderung partners. AKM is the Austrian society for authors, composers, and music publishers — provides licensing and rights management support.
• SKE - soziale und kulturelle EinrichtungenminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Förderung partners. SKE Fund supports cultural institutions.
• Stiftung Fürstlicher Kommerzienrat Guido FegerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Förderung partners. Liechtenstein foundation providing cultural funding.
• FAMA - Fachverband Film- und Musikwirtschaft der WKOminorOthersListed under Förderung partners. Austrian trade association for film and music industry.
• Raiffeisen Montfort StiftungminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Förderung partners. Also listed under Raumfahrt partners. Regional foundation.
• Ministerium für Äusseres, Umwelt und Kultur der Liechtensteinischen RegierungcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Förderung partners. Liechtenstein government ministry providing cultural funding.
• Stadt Feldkirch / KulturcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed under Subvention partners. Municipality of Feldkirch provides cultural subsidy.
• Stadt Hohenems / KulturcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed under Subvention partners. Municipality of Hohenems provides cultural subsidy.
• Bundesministerium für Wohnen, Kunst, Kultur, Medien und SportcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Subvention and Generator partners. Austrian Federal Ministry provides government subsidy for cultural activities.
• Land VorarlbergcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Subvention, Generator, and Werbung partners. The state of Vorarlberg provides government funding and support.
• Musikschule FeldkirchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed under Kultur partners. Feldkirch music school collaborates on cultural programming.
• Kunsthaus BregenzminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed under Kultur partners. Regional art museum with collaborative cultural programs.
• Kunstmuseum LiechtensteinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed under Kultur partners. Regional art museum in Liechtenstein with collaborative cultural programs.
• Vorarlberger LandestheaterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed under Kultur partners. Regional state theater for performing arts.
• Fachhochschule VorarlbergminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed under Kultur partners. University of Applied Sciences in Vorarlberg.
• Stella Vorarlberg - Privathochschule für MusikminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed under Kultur partners. Private music university in Vorarlberg, co-leading the Generator Musik laboratory.
• literatur:vorarlberg netzwerkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed under Kultur partners. Collaborates with Poolbar on Ticketliteratur literary publication.
• Szene Open Air / Poolbar FriendshipticketminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed under Kultur partners. Sister music festival with cross-promotional 'Friendshipticket' offering.
• Radio FM4coreGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Medien partners. ORF FM4 is the primary radio media partner, providing broadcast coverage and co-promotion. FM4 broadcasts from Vienna with a focus on alternative music and culture.
• Der StandardminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Medien partners. Austrian national daily newspaper providing editorial coverage.
• Antenne VorarlbergminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Medien partners. Regional radio station covering Vorarlberg.
• ORF VorarlbergminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Medien partners. Regional broadcaster of Austrian national broadcaster ORF.
• COFFEE-TIMEminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Gastronomie partners. Coffee vendor providing beverages at the festival.
• Amann KaffeeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Gastronomie partners. Regional coffee roaster providing specialty coffee at the festival.
• Lisilis BiohofminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Gastronomie partners. Organic farm providing produce for festival gastronomy.
• Pernod Ricard AustriaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Gastronomie partners. Spirits and wine company (Absolut, Havana Club, Jameson, Beefeater, Olmeca, Lillet, Ramazotti brands) providing beverages.
• Bäckerei MangoldminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Gastronomie partners and Poolquiz prize donors. Regional bakery providing food products.
• vai - Vorarlberger Architektur InstitutminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed under Generator partners. Regional architecture institute supporting the Generator workshop program.
• TU WienminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed under Generator partners. Vienna University of Technology participating in Generator workshop.
• Zumtobel LightingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Architektur partners. International lighting company headquartered in Vorarlberg, providing lighting solutions.
• HILTIminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Architektur partners. Construction tools and engineering company supporting architecture and building programs.
• 1zu1 PrototypenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed under Generator partners. Rapid prototyping company supporting the Generator workshop program.
• Studio VOLNAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as Lichtkunst laborleitung (Light Art lab leadership). Studio VOLNA leads the Generator Light Art laboratory, developing lighting concepts for historic spaces.
• PRISMA UnternehmensgruppeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Werbung (advertising) partners. Regional business group providing advertising and marketing support.
• Stadtwerke FeldkirchminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Werbung partners. Municipal utility company of Feldkirch.
• InaturaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed under Werbung partners. Regional nature experience center in Dornbirn.
• Bodensee-Vorarlberg-TourismusminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Werbung partners. Regional tourism organization covering Lake Constance and Vorarlberg.
• Vorarlberg TourismusminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Werbung partners. State tourism board of Vorarlberg.
• Raiffeisen MontfortstiftungminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed under Raumfahrt partners. Regional foundation supporting the Raumfahrt off-season cultural program.
• VercelcoreTechnology or IntegrationWebsite hosting provider. The Poolbar Festival website is hosted on Vercel's platform (USA/EU).
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processing provider. Stripe handles secure payment processing for the online shop including tickets and merchandise, with PCI-DSS compliant data handling.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Donauinselfest: Vienna-based free music festival and the largest annual open-air event in Europe. Comparable as an Austrian music festival operating on public funding, sponsorships, and free/low-cost ticketing, but operates at vastly larger scale and primarily in Vienna rather than Vorarlberg.
• Melt Festival: Established German electronic and pop music festival. Comparable as a DACH-region summer music festival operating with corporate sponsors and ticketed entry, though positioned more toward electronic music than Poolbar's mixed-genre cultural programming.
• Roskilde Festival: Major non-profit European music festival operating on a charity/community-mission basis comparable to Poolbar's gemeinnützige structure, but at vastly larger scale with global headliner programming.

Direct peers

• Frequency Festival: Austrian multi-genre music festival (St. Pölten region) operating with similar mixed-pop/alternative programming, festival pass ticketing, and youth-cultural audience positioning. Closest direct scale-comparable peer within Austria.
• Splash! Festival: German hip-hop and pop music festival operating a comparable boutique-festival model with sponsor funding, multi-stage programming, and a cultural rather than purely commercial positioning.
• Szene Open Air: Austrian regional music festival explicitly partnered with Poolbar via a 'Friendshipticket' cross-promotion. Operates a similar summer outdoor festival model targeting comparable DACH audiences with overlapping genre positioning.
• Fusion Festival: German alternative music and culture festival at Lärz with a non-commercial, community-built positioning closely analogous to Poolbar's Generator-driven model. Comparable on the cultural/programming axis if not on the regional geography.

Emerging players

• Szene Vorarlberg: Vorarlberg-based cultural and music venue/programming organization operating in the same regional ecosystem as Poolbar. Comparable as a local-arts peer competing for the same audience pool, sponsor relationships, and municipal cultural funding.

Regional players

• Paléo Festival Nyon: Major Swiss music festival held annually in Nyon on Lake Geneva. Comparable as a large-scale DACH-region summer music festival with multi-stage programming, sponsor ecosystem, and public funding reliance — but serving a different Swiss geography.
• Zurich Open Air: Multi-genre open-air festival in Zurich. Operates a similar model of summer festival with sponsor funding and ticketed entry in the DACH region, but draws primarily Zurich-area audiences rather than the Vorarlberg/Lake Constance catchment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/poolbarFestival
• Facebookfacebook.com/Poolbar.Festival
• Instagraminstagram.com/poolbarfestival
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/poolbar-festival

Compliance1 record

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 Poolbar Festival