Poll toll: Goafest 2024 to take place in Mumbai, could be a two-day event

India’s foremost advertising event, Goafest 2024 is all set to be held in Mumbai this year instead of its permanent venue of Goa due to the Lok Sabha elections.

It is learnt from industry sources that the Goafest committee has been deliberating over the change in venue of the event instead of changing the dates – May 29 to 31, 2024. However, after discussions the committee is expected to shorten the duration of Goafest from three days to two days and hold it on May 30 and 31.

When Adgully reached out to the Goafest committee member, on condition of anonymity the member said that this year is a special case due to the Lok Sabha elections. Prior to this, the Covid period had disrupted the Goafest event and the festival was not held for two years due to the prevailing circumstances. The member further stated if other important events can be held in Mumbai during the election season, such as the ongoing Indian Premier League, then there is no reason why Goafest also can’t be held in Mumbai.

However, given the shortness of time and the high cost of venues, it could be a logistical nightmare for the organiser.

After a few years of seeing a dip in attendance and participation by the industry, Goafest 2023 saw a great response from the industry. The collaboration with One Show has given the ABBY Awards a more formidable presence among the various industry awards. Given the increased presence of agencies as well as clients at Goafest 2023, the event this year is expected to see an even greater number of delegates.

On the plus side, Mumbai is home to India’s advertising industry and being the financial capital of India, holding Goafest 2024 in the metro city could see an even higher presence of the industry, making it a bigger success.