Sundance Film Festival dumps Park City, UT for Boulder, CO

[Anonymous]

Wow, this is wild. Apparently the decision was driven by the hard right politics of the legislature, including its recent ban on Pride flags.

The festival last year boasted close to 73,000 attendees, with more than 24,000 coming from out-of-state, including celebrities, industry moguls, and independent film lovers, who spent a collective $106.4 million while visiting Utah. According to the Sundance Institute's 2024 economic impact report, the event generated about $13.8 million in state and local tax revenue.

In addition to the potential loss of millions of dollars, Utah will also see over 1,700 jobs disappear -- along with nearly $70 million in wages paid to Utah residents.

https://kutv.com/news/local/utah-officially-loses-sundance-film-festival-to-boulder

The Park City Mayor laments the politics of the state:

“Unfortunately, a recent bill passed by the Utah legislature and comments made by some legislature have not been helpful in our bid to keep the festival here,” the retiring resort town mayor told local luminaries this evening of the bill designed to ban LGBTQ+ flags and banners on public buildings and schools.

https://deadline.com/2025/03/sundance-relocation-lgbtq-flag-utah-1236350703/

As soon as Sundance announced their decision, the Governor of UT signed the bill banning the Pride flag. Incredible.

[Anonymous]

You really showed them Utah! Sticking to your bigotry at the expense of jobs and income.... that's the MAGA way.

[Anonymous]

They’re going to be shocked at how sleepy boulder is.

But thanks Utah! I live near boulder and we appreciate the revenue!

[Anonymous]

Lisa Barlow is going to be super sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They’re going to be shocked at how sleepy boulder is.

But thanks Utah! I live near boulder and we appreciate the revenue!

Park City isn’t exactly a thriving metropolis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They’re going to be shocked at how sleepy boulder is.

But thanks Utah! I live near boulder and we appreciate the revenue!

Park City isn’t exactly a thriving metropolis.

But Park City has much better accommodations, from luxury hotels to home rentals.

[Anonymous]

The subject line should be "Sundance drops Utah for Colorado." Park City probably did everything it could to keep Sundance, but the state legislature is full of bigots.

[Anonymous]

I think it's sad. I get the reasons but Park City is super liberal and these decisions punish the very many totally tolerant people in a state.

[Anonymous]

I think the residents of Utah got what they wanted. They did not want this event hosted in their state. I also read recently that they are fine with the collapse of their maternal health care system. Soon it will be a rare luxury to have an OB-GYN to visit in Utah. It will be going back to GP’s like what it was essentially in the early 20th century and before. The article is behind a firewall and I can’t gift it but there have been numerous articles on this topic.

[Anonymous]

Good for them.

[Anonymous]

Why would anyone want to host that wine festival anyways? Good for Utah dodging a mess!

[Anonymous]

Boulder residents will NOT like this.
They are richer and not a fan of outsiders who don't own property there for generations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the residents of Utah got what they wanted. They did not want this event hosted in their state. I also read recently that they are fine with the collapse of their maternal health care system. Soon it will be a rare luxury to have an OB-GYN to visit in Utah. It will be going back to GP’s like what it was essentially in the early 20th century and before. The article is behind a firewall and I can’t gift it but there have been numerous articles on this topic.

Please provide a citation for the bolded.

[Anonymous]

The Pride flag is only banned in government buildings and schools. Interestingly, they *also* banned MAGA flags from the same locations - funny how that wasn't mentioned by any of you.

“As tired as Utahns are of politically divisive symbols, I think they are also tired of culture war bills that don’t solve the problems they intend to fix,” the governor wrote.

Cox went on to say that despite his concerns, he supports the bill’s professed goal of making classrooms “neutral” spaces.

“In an attempt to make some kids feel more welcome, other kids feel less welcome,” he wrote. “I appreciate that the bill is neutral on the types of flags in question (and I find it strange that no headline reads ‘MAGA flags banned from classrooms’).”

https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2025/03/28/pride-flag-ban-utah-first-state/

[Anonymous]

I just don’t see boulder ad the right place. Maybe telluride or something but boulder doesn’t seem great. It’s true, not a lot of accommodations and it’s a university town (I went there!)