The San Sebastian Festival is steering toward a new era of broadcast innovation with a first ever vertical format live stream, premiering on TikTok. This move signals a deliberate shift by the festival to embrace a modern, mobile-first viewing experience and to experiment with fresh storytelling techniques that align with how audiences consume entertainment today. By taking cinema’s celebratory energy into the vertical realm, the festival aims to broaden its reach, inviting a wider, diverse global audience to experience its premieres, red carpets, and highlights in real time on a platform where many fans already spend significant daily screen time.
In 2024 the festival partners with TikTok as the lead platform for its 70th edition, which runs from September 16 to 24. The collaboration is described as pioneering, marking the first time the Donostia festival has aligned with a mobile-first entertainment platform to connect with viewers exactly where they watch content. This strategic alliance reflects the festival’s commitment to staying current with evolving media habits and to presenting its program through channels that maximize accessibility, engagement, and shareability across different regions, including Canada and the United States.
The official TikTok channel for the San Sebastian Festival, under the handle @sansebastianfes, offers a broad array of content. It features exclusive clips, festival highlights, and behind the scenes moments from both before the competition and during festival events. For fans, this channel provides a closer look at the experience as it unfolds, delivering a sense of participation and anticipation that complements traditional media coverage. By curating a steady stream of timely updates, the channel helps fans feel connected to the festival journey, from preparation to the climactic moments on stage.
The opening ceremony is scheduled to be streamed on TikTok LIVE on September 16 at 20:30, setting a historical precedent with a live broadcast on the platform. Fans can also tune in to the red carpet moments beginning at 19:30, ahead of the gala, to preview the events to come and to catch glimpses of the evening’s fashion, mood, and key personalities as they unfold in real time. This approach blends the pageantry of cinema with the immediacy of social video, offering audiences a front-row experience regardless of location and encouraging impulsive engagement and spontaneous conversations around the festival’s most anticipated moments.