This music festival was powered entirely by the sun and bicycles

Finnish energy company Vare highlighted its environmental credentials by putting on a music festival entirely powered by solar panels and audience members on bicycles. The "Sunplugged" event, which took place on April 13 in Helsinki, was conceived by ad agency Hasan & Partners. The shop hired Finnish inventor Janne Kapylehto to build solar panels and set up 20 energy-generating bicycles by the stage, to supply kinetic electricity as audience members pedaled during the live performances from artists Benjamin, Abreu and Ida Paul and Kalle Lindroth. Vare used the free festival to demonstrate that solar energy can be used in Nordic countries and can be stored for use at a later date in the winter months. “From day one, instead of selling energy, our goal is to create experiences that will change attitudes towards solar energy," said Marketing Director Satu Kuusinen in a statement. The company wanted to show "that if we can power a festival with solar power, you can power your home in the same way. We want to do everything we can to help people reduce their consumption, and make it more cost-effective and ecological.” The experience comes as other music festivals around the world are trying to make themselves more environmentally friendly. U.K. festival Glastonbury has banned the sale of single-use plastic water bottles, while in the U.S., Burning Man has banned camper group Humano the Tribe from the festival due to its lack of care for their surrounding environment.

This music festival was powered entirely by the sun and bicycles

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