The tenth birthday edition of our beloved festival had all the DK ingredients: packed festival halls, loud energy and creativity at it’s best, while predictable unpredictability this year sealed all the imperfectly perfect memories of our typically atypical festival.
Yes, we exceeded all expectations once again; delivered a unique festival experience with record attendance, showcased extraordinary production and reached the highest level of organization, welcoming our community on our tenth birthday with style and swag. While we’re being modest, did anyone really expect anything less? Well yes, but haters gonna hate.
Photo: Borna Jakšić/PIXSELL
With a total of 163 speakers and performers, 123 companies, brands, and associations as partners, sponsors, and friends of the festival, over 70 program segments and events that took place at 7 festival locations, all that remains is to eagerly await what’ll your one & only festival have in store for you for 2025. For an entire year. All of 365 days. Just 8760 hours.
Photo: Emica Elvedji/PIXSELL
Dunja Ivana Ballon, the woman behind your favorite madness, or as the titles call her Festival & Program Director, agrees with you: “Extraordinary things in life don’t come by easy or often which is why we are so grateful for each and every one of YOU who believed in us and chose to spend your time with us” — both alone and with several thousand other people, but that’s apparently our thing (let’s be real, who doesn’t love a good audience). When asked about 2025 and exceeding expectations, she clapped back “we might be a lot of things but boring isn’t one of them“.
Photo: Vana Katančić
Our typically-atypical festival surprised everyone with innovative new formats that pushed the boundaries of the events market or what we just like to consider “the fun stuff” such as midnight talks, beachside streams, post-program pints, a beach afterparty at sunset, spectacular main 360° hall, sold-out batches of our FUCK&LOVE fashion, a new fourth hall in an indoor woods, the first AI sidekick of such an event in Croatia, even drinking rakija on the main stage after midnight with one of the greatest living thinkers on the planet (Dan Ariely, we love you), marriage proposals to the hottest guy ever (yes, Marnick Vandenbroek, we’re talking about you), a legendary creative Brian Collins creating waves (and throwing chocolate at people), DJ-ing in the club with Oobah Butler, brass band wake-up performance on Friday morning and a whole plethora of other unprecedented content we enjoyed to the max at the sunniest edition of DK Festival — yet.
Photo: Matija Habljak/PIXSELL
You were a part of what many consider the best program in this part of the world, where we hosted unique insights from 13 extraordinary speakers from Argentina, Belgium, Singapore, the UK, the USA, on the festival’s 360° stage (did you know many call it the scariest stage in the world?) and celebrated numerous national and regional experts, leaders in our market that created this festival with us.
Photo: Matija Habljak/PIXSELL
The spectrum of topics covered everything from pushing the boundaries of creativity, taboo topics in the industry, future, neuroscience, breaking stereotypes, psychology, creative chaos, AI and even tripping, drawing out the most current and compelling aspects of our work.
Photo: Vana Katančić
The evening sessions were shows like no other as we presented awards for the best of the best among 518 projects competing for industry awards, chosen by a selection of 118 jury members and competition committees.
Photo: Matija Habljak/PIXSELL
This thrilling festival edition once again demonstrated that, from one extreme to another, from black to white, it is possible to simultaneously love and hate the communications industry, but it is impossible to remain indifferent towards it. So, at the closing of the tenth edition, we said farewell to our community and thanked our speakers, panelists, partners, festival friends, media, and everyone involved in the organization who helped realize this extensive project. We congratulated the competition winners, closing the festival doors — until next year.
Photo: Vana Katančić
Ballon also praised the festival’s team for their extraordinary energy and love that they invested into making this wild show: senior program managers Maja Baumschabel (program) and Helena Fuker (partnerships), press Barbara Tolić Aušić and Katarina Osmak, socials Marin Vlainić, awards Eva Trstenjak and Monika Bogdanić, admin Fran Ljubej, and their partners in crime, producers Damir Stupnišek & Lara Stolnik, comms Jelena Babić & Sven Sorić, lawyer Ivana Delalić, tech Goran & Marko Matošić, our students Barbara, Nika and Ana, alongside the festival’s committee.
Photo: Emica Elvedji/PIXSELL
Those of you who couldn’t have joined this year’s big celebration of the communications industry had to watch from the sidelines. Our online passes provided access to the Hall AAA content and were available to all DK2024 ticket holders.
Till we meet again, stay naughty, creative, inspired and create some reeeally good trouble. Love from your DK Team.
Photo: Vana Katančić