Canada’s Largest South Asian Youth Festival Kicks-Off New App-Based Experience for a COVID-19 World — Announcing 5X: Race to the Stage


Embracing technology, 5X Fest launches a unique blend
of live and virtual in their new festival app

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Festival season isn’t over and fun isn’t cancelled. 5X Fest is excited to kick off their 3rd annual festival — 5X: Race to the Stage — in collaboration with global wellness and fan engagement platform Stepathlon. With over 20,000 attendees already signed up, this could be the new normal for festival experiences.

As a second wave lockdown looms across the globe, 5X Fest has launched a free festival that combines live and virtual experiences in a totally unique way. This is not a livestream. This is an entire festival on your phone, via the 5X Fest app, accessible for 6-weeks at your own convenience. While many of 2020’s digital and online festivals have left us as spectators, 5X Race to the Stage is a more interactive experience where the user is in the center of the action. With 40 in-app ‘stages’, festival goers move around in the physical world to unlock exclusive content - much like a real music festival! 

At each stage users are greeted with performances, merchandise and surprises from 60+ top local and international creators across music, fashion, art, activism and wellness. The ‘race’ starts in-app on September 28, 2020, and all along the way, there are chances to win amazing prizes and loot, including international flight vouchers, staycations, and a trip to Vancouver, Canada! Participants in the race earn a spot at the 5X ‘Mainstage’ for a two-day finale experience on November 14 and 15, 2020 featuring Avan Jogia, Kay Ray, Pallavi Sharda, ALOK, BFunk, Sandy Lion, Nav Banga and more! 5X Race to the Stage is 2020’s not to be missed South Asian pop culture event. 

“There are approximately 210 million South Asian millennials in North America and India alone; and as we anticipate another lockdown, we want to unite our community beyond physical boundaries,” shared Tarun Nayar, Executive Director, 5X Festival. “At 5X we create safe spaces where artists can meet artists, novices can meet masters, and fans can be inspired to find their inner artist. 5X Race to the Stage is our way of taking these safe spaces to the world, and inspiring our community to stay connected and healthy during these tough times.”

The 5X Race to the Stage app is available on iOS and Android devices. The journey began this week and will continue through to November 13 with the finale 5X Mainstage two-day experience taking place on November 14 & 15, 2020. For more information, visit: www.5xfest.com.

5X Festival gratefully acknowledges the support of the City of Surrey, City of Vancouver, Canada Council for the Arts, Government of Canada, BC Arts Council, and Province of British Columbia.

For more information:
Neesha Hothi
Publicist, 5X Festival
nh@neeshcommunications.ca