Header image by Jacob Fredegaard Hansen
A legacy of data and music
For over a decade, Christian Greisik, a GIS Team Lead and FME enthusiast, has combined his expertise in GIS and his passion for music to help drive the success of Roskilde Festival, one of the largest and most iconic music festivals in the world. With over 120,000 attendees annually and 30,000 volunteers, Roskilde Festival is more than a celebration of music—it’s a complex operation requiring meticulous planning, real-time data management, and precise coordination. With 15 years of experience using FME, Christian brings his skills to the festival’s GIS team, ensuring that data plays a pivotal role in the festival’s smooth operation.
Revamping festival planning through GIS and FME
Christian first started volunteering for Roskilde more than 14 years ago. The festival has grown each year since then, along with the need for more efficient processes. Before FME, the festival’s internal mapping system was rudimentary, relying largely on manual processes. Few people used the map, and even fewer were aware of the vast potential of spatial data in festival planning. That changed with the introduction of their web GIS, bolstered by Christian’s knowledge of FME.
With FME, the GIS team can deliver essential data to festival architects, who are responsible for designing different zones of the festival grounds. “The areas have their own architects who draw the layouts and send the data to us,” Christian explains. “We use FME to convert it into formats compatible with our GIS environment, so all festival data remains integrated and accessible.” This decentralized model allows for creativity within each area while maintaining a unified approach to data handling.
Supporting a festival on the move through automation
Beyond planning, FME also plays a critical role in the festival’s daily operations. Roskilde is no longer just a four-day event; it has expanded into an eight-day experience, packed with continuous performances and an active campsite. Christian’s team, although small, is tasked with supporting multiple maintenance systems that rely on up-to-date data throughout the festival. With FME’s automation capabilities, they can push data to these systems daily, enabling seamless updates.
Enhancing safety and security with systematic data sharing
Systematic data management doesn’t just serve festival staff—it’s critical for the safety of everyone on site. Roskilde Festival collaborates closely with local police, fire departments, and other emergency services, all of whom require accurate and timely data. “People might think it’s just a festival with a lot of dancing and fun, but there’s a large integral system behind it,” Christian emphasizes. “Our emergency partners depend on the accuracy of this data, and FME helps us deliver it in a reliable way.”
Lil Nas X performance. Image by Adam Grønne
Empowering volunteers and streamlining operations
With around 1,000 internal users now accessing the festival’s GIS map, Christian has made it his mission to ensure FME is the user-friendly solution for the team, especially given the high turnover of volunteers each year. Many of the existing tools and solutions for data conversion required a steep learning curve, an unrealistic expectation for short-term volunteers.
“Each year, we have new volunteers joining, so it was crucial to introduce a tool where you could self-document and didn’t require intensive training,” Christian explains. “FME allows us to make the process easier for everyone involved.”
Expanding horizons: The next chapter for FME at Roskilde
Christian envisions an even broader role for FME within the festival’s data strategy. With Roskilde’s expanding focus on business intelligence, he’s already discussing plans for a data warehouse that centralizes all the information from various festival areas. This system would allow other teams to gain valuable insights from GIS data, creating opportunities for advanced analysis and data-driven decisions across festival operations.
“We’re just a nonprofit music festival, but we have a dedicated business intelligence team that’s eager to dive into the data,” he says. “Creating a data warehouse with FME as the backbone could help us distribute this data effectively and gain insights that benefit the entire festival ecosystem.”
The heart of the festival: Christian’s passion for making a difference
Christian’s commitment to Roskilde Festival goes beyond his professional skills. Having attended the festival since 1991, he loves the atmosphere and the sense of community it fosters. “There’s something special about being a small piece of this massive event,” he reflects. “I walk around the campsites, see all these happy faces, and feel like, if I weren’t here, maybe it wouldn’t happen.”
For Christian, volunteering at Roskilde is also a way of giving back. All revenue generated by the festival is donated to different organizations working primarily with youth and young people, and he’s proud to contribute to such a purpose-driven event. “With everything going on in the world, it’s easy to lose hope. But seeing 30,000 people work together at Roskilde makes me believe that maybe things aren’t so hopeless after all.”
A sound future with FME
As Roskilde Festival continues to grow and evolve, Christian and his team will keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with FME. From supporting daily operations and emergency services to building a data-driven future, FME has become an integral part of the festival’s heartbeat. Through Christian’s expertise and dedication, Roskilde’s use of FME not only enhances the festival experience for attendees but also exemplifies how technology can bring people together in a celebration of music, unity, and purpose.
