The sun is about to set—at least on Park City, Utah where the Sundance Film Festival has been for nearly half a century.
Beginning in 2027, the annual extravaganza will be moving to a new venue, says the Sundance Institute, which announced on Thursday the three finalists: Boulder, Colorado; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Salt Lake City/Park City, Utah. The decision about the festival’s new location will be made in the first quarter of 2025. Eugene Hernandez, the director of the Sundance Festival and its chief of public programming, was quoted as saying that “We’re excited for a future Sundance that can discover, support, and inspire artists and audiences for the next 40 years.”
The move was prompted in part by concerns that Park City was being overwhelmed by the crowds who descend upon the small community during the annual festival each January. If Salt Lake City/Park City is ultimately selected, some events would still take place in the smaller venue.
In addition, three other cities were also semi-finalists in the process, as noted by Ebs Burnough, the chair of the Sundance Institute, who said: “We are deeply grateful to all the finalists and appreciate the partnership and ingenuity we found in the three moving forward, as well as Atlanta, Louisville and Santa Fe this summer. Leaders and locals in each community generously welcomed and inspired us as we explored the potential for our Festival in 2027, and beyond.”
Civic leaders in the three finalist cities expressed enthusiasm for the process. Colorado’s governor Jared Polis said that “Boulder is the next natural home to the Sundance Film Festival…Here in Colorado we cherish our creative communities, the jobs they create and the economic contributions they make to our entire state, and the Sundance Film Festival would perfectly complement the work and creative activity already happening here in Colorado.”
Cincinnati’s boosters, including mayor Aftab Pureval and as well as Kristen Schlotman, who heads Film Cincinnati, cited the city’s “dedication to the arts, hospitality, and historic theaters” and said the Ohio location could introduce “a dynamic, walkable, and accessible new venue.”
Salt Lake City officials, including Mayor Erin Mendenhall and county mayor Jenny Wilson joined Park City’s mayor Nann Worel in hoping that Sundance would remain in Utah, calling attention to how the area’s “extensive event infrastructure, world-class venues and warm hospitality [would] help Sundance shine on the global stage.”
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