How Fierté Montréal uses FEST to simplify communication across 183 events

When a festival runs for 11 days and brings together 183 events, communication becomes a major operational challenge.

That is the case for Fierté Montréal, one of the largest LGBTQA+ gatherings in the French-speaking world and one of the events that attracts the most tourists to Montréal.

For Oswaldo’s team, Communications and Marketing Director at Fierté Montréal, the challenge is not only to publish a program. It is to make a large volume of information accessible, clear and useful for the public throughout the festival.

Fierté Montréal at a glance

• 11 days of festival
• 183 events on the program
• A major tourist event in Montréal
• A strong share of visitors and tourists in the audience

A large-scale communication challenge

Fierté Montréal relies on several communication channels, including its website, newsletter, out-of-home visibility, media campaigns, printed materials and social media.

But with such a dense program, no single channel is enough on its own. Audiences need simple access to information, directly on mobile, at the moment they need it.

When several events happen at the same time in different locations, clarity becomes essential. This is where FEST becomes especially relevant as a complementary channel.

Why the app became important for the audience experience

For the team, the value of FEST starts with accessibility. They needed a mobile tool that was easy to consult and able to present information in a clear, immediate and practical way.

The calendar remains the most important feature for users. It is often the main entry point into the app. From there, festival-goers explore event pages, discover artists, photos and social links.

For me, the most important feature for the user is the calendar.

A useful channel for live communication

One of the most important use cases mentioned by Fierté Montréal is notifications. During the 2024 edition, the team had to cancel one day due to weather conditions. In this type of situation, speed of communication becomes critical.

Thanks to notifications, the organization was able to inform the public directly and relay the cancellation immediately. In a festival setting, this kind of feature is not just a convenience. It is a real-time communication tool.

Notifications matter. When you need to inform the public quickly, they become essential.

Reducing printed materials through digital tools

By encouraging access through digital tools, Fierté Montréal also reduced the volume of printed programs by half compared with previous years.

This choice responds to a practical need, but also to a sense of responsibility. When information can be accessed easily on mobile, it becomes possible to limit print runs and reduce paper waste.

Several festivals in one app, a structural advantage

For Fierté Montréal, one of FEST’s strongest advantages is also shared resources. Rather than funding separate tools for each festival, the shared model makes it possible to build a common product that improves over time and benefits everyone.

This logic is particularly relevant in a context where organizing festivals is becoming more and more expensive. Sharing certain resources makes digital tools stronger, more useful and more sustainable.

For the public, this shared approach also brings a concrete advantage. The more people use FEST across different festivals, the more familiar they become with the app, making the experience simpler from one event to the next.

A long-term collaboration with the FEST team

Oswaldo also highlights the platform’s ease of use and the quality of the support. Since the beginning of the collaboration in 2023, FEST has been seen as a responsive partner, attentive and invested in the project’s success.

Beyond the product itself, this close relationship also mattered. For the organization, it was more meaningful to work with a committed team able to respond quickly and improve alongside them, rather than with a more impersonal structure.

Since 2023, we have grown together.

What this case shows for festivals

Fierté Montréal’s feedback shows that a festival app can play several roles at once:

• Simplify access to a complex program
• Offer a clear mobile solution for audiences
• Support real-time communication
• Contribute to a more responsible distribution of information

In a large-scale festival, the challenge is not only to have the right information. It is also to make that information easy to consult, easy to update and immediately available when circumstances change.

FEST App is the simplest app for festival organizers. With ultra-fast setup, a free license and partner integrations, it has become a reference in festival mobile apps. In fact, your festival may already be on FEST.

Our team helps festivals communicate better with their audiences, distribute their programming and ticketing, and create more value for their partners.

The information shared in this article comes from an interview with Oswaldo Gutiérrez Bayardi, Communications and Marketing Director at Fierté Montréal, conducted on October 30, 2025.