Jaeger has naturally followed the ongoing situation and debate regarding investment fund KKR and their investment in Superstruct, the owner of several festivals including the Øya Festival.
KKR is one of the world’s largest investment funds. The KKR portfolio of direct investments run across 19 pages and includes a multitude of companies. Some of these companies are engaged activities that contribute to the ongoing genocide in Gaza and in the displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank. Included in the portfolio are also Norwegian entities (directly or through subsidiaries) and a long list of businesses that deliver services or sell goods in Norway.
We believe that companies and funds such as KKR, along with The Norwegian Sovereign Fund and many others, should be held accountable for their investments in companies that breach international law or contribute to such breaches. We support actions such as Divest From Occupation that document and highlight these investments.
As an independently minded venue we are in general critical of the accelerating merger within nightlife and culture. But we can also appreciate the reasons behind The Øya Festival merging into festival focused investment fund Superstruct in 2018. After all, running a festival in Norway can be an extreme sport on a good day. But these mergers do come with their own pitfalls, changing ownership being one of those.
While we recognise that the sale of shares to KKR, and their continued ownership of these shares, are outside of the festivals control, we believe it puts a particular onus on the festivals to take action and to be clear about their position.
Our conversations with The Øya Festival have been open and constructive. They have clearly been active and aware. The festival has been engaged with staff, partners and artists along the way. The Øya Festival is also public about the situation and has made clear their opposition to all unethical investments, including those held by KKR. Critically The Øya Festival retains artistic control, and the festival remains a platform for voices that are highly critical of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, as well as KKR.
We have decided to continue our longstanding Øya Natt collaboration with The Øya Festival. We believe this to be on balance the right thing to do. The issue with KKR and The Øya Festival remains, but it is also an issue that runs much deeper and wider than these two parties. And in this matter we will do a wider review of partners and suppliers. We will make our voice heard and direct pressure where needed. We also encourage other parties in a similar predicament to the Superstruct festivals to engage with the problem and to speak out.
Finally to make our position clear: The ongoing genocide in Gaza, along with the ongoing breaches by multiple parties of international law, is abhorrent. We urge the immediate return of all hostages and a return to real and purposeful negotiations. We support the natural right of all people to freedom, safety and statehood. Peace is always a choice, if not an easy one, and it must be chosen by all sides. Peace requires investment, compromise and patience, but peace offers infinitely more than the destruction and moral collapse we are witnessing today.