The European Festivals Association (EFA) - in collaboration with its Working Group "Communicating Festivals - Communicating Europe" - has launched a blog "Festival Bytes" (www.festivalbytes.eu). The blog is a space to spread ideas on the application of digital and social media in festivals. All contributors - colleagues from the cultural and festival sectors from all over the world - make us think; they take us behind the scenes of their activities; they share ideas, trends, best practices, expertise, and also failures. Reaching out In 2012, the European Festivals Association celebrates its 60th anniversary. Under the motto “EFA 60 Years On: Festivals and the World”, EFA celebrates the arts and imagines the world. The blog is one of the initiatives to raise the voice of festivals and to draw attention to their ability to reach out and to communicate with the widest range of people – better than any other cultural platform. The bloggers: an exchange of experts EFA’s Working Group is a platform to exchange on current applications and recent innovations in communication and marketing tools applied specifically in festivals on the one hand; and to reflect on the challenges and the future of communicating festivals and communicating Europe on the other. Visit the blog regularly and get inspired by the experiences of Belgrade Music Festival; Berliner Festspiele; Edinburgh International Festival; Flanders Festival Gent and Brussels; Festival Ljubljana; BBC Proms; International Festival Wratislavia Cantans; Music Biennale Zagreb; Association of Irish Festival Events; Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV); Festivals Edinburgh and many more. Futhermore, the European Festivals Association invites guest authors to contact us to propose blog posts. First blog posts include: • Youth ‘n Classic – new talents creating a social buzz, by Sarie Van Lancker, Communication Manager of the Flanders Festival Brussels • Pelican-cat-cows, by Nikola Richter, project manager of Theatertreffen-Blog, writer, editor, lecturer • Pirouetting into Cyberspace, by Karen Jeynes, writer, arts manager, lecturer • Lessons learnt and Cultural organisations on the 2.0 bandwagon, by Kerstin Schilling, Cultural Manager and Communication Specialist • Why a blog on digital media in festivals?, by EFA Visit the blog at www.festivalbytes.eu.