When Absolut approached us about a global partnership, we were clear on if we were going to put our names together, it had to be for something that genuinely expanded what a festival could feel like, not just another branded bar.

Out of that came The Gardenarium, our first truly co‑curated day festival, launched at Cova Santa in the Ibiza hills as the flagship of a three‑year deal to create 30 experiences across 11 markets. We chose Cova Santa because it already feels like a story, terraces carved into the mountain, a secret cave, open‑air decks and corners that invite you to get lost and then we layered on a whole ecosystem of experiences built around.

Imagination is what makes us human and what unites us, no matter where we come from. That meant moving beyond a main stage plus bars into a real garden of happenings: an Imagination Concierge to guide people through the day, workshops by Cosmic Pineapple, Suco Sessions up on the roof, a “tree of melodies”, fountains pouring Absolut, kaleidoscope and flower bars, masked balls, queer‑led spaces and a Giant Sun Stage paying homage to the fact that we all live under the same sky.

From a business point of view, Gardenarium was the centrepiece of a new kind of partnership: not a media buy, but a three‑year joint venture where Absolut committed budget, talent and trust to co‑invent formats like this and the touring Pink Cathedral and where we committed to opening up our creative process and audiences to a brand that shares our values of inclusivity and freedom.

For us and for them, it proved that when a vodka brand and a business family stop thinking in terms of “sponsorship” and start thinking in terms of “shared worlds”, you can create a festival that feels less like a campaign and more like stepping into a living, breathing manifesto about how we want people to feel when they party together.