Sundance Film Festival will remain in Park City through 2026

The Sundance Film Festival has been a virtual affair the past two years. Photo: TownLift

PARK CITY, Utah — Following two completely online film festivals, it was announced on Thursday that the Sundance Institute will call Park City home through 2026.

The agreement between Park City and Sundance had a clause allowing the nonprofit to opt-out in 2024 if it was unable to renew a lease at its former headquarters at Silver Star. The organization moved from Silver Star to a new building on Kearns Blvd. in 2019.

This week was Sundance’s last chance to cancel the agreement, under the terms of the contract.

“The Sundance Institute and Park City mutually agree that since the Institute subsequently entered into a new long-term lease for its Utah offices at 1500 Kearns Boulevard, Park City, UT, the Institute’s right to cancel the Master Festival License by written notice due to the Park City by March 1, 2022 is not applicable,” Park City Municipal said in a statement.

“Both partners are pleased to confirm that our agreement remains in place for the full term through 2026.”

According to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, nonlocal attendance at the January event has decreased over the past three years. Nonresident festival spending ($149.1 million) was down 9.5% at the pre-pandemic 2020 festival when compared to the prior year.

During the 2021 virtual festival, transient room taxes were down 39.2% compared to the prior year.