La Fête de l’Humanité: organizing a digital festival during a pandemic

Expertises Digital activations

Cosa supported La Fête de l’Humanité in its digital transformation, enabling this iconic event to reinvent itself while preserving its festive and community spirit despite the pandemic. In just one month, we designed a three-day livestream, an immersive interactive website, and an optimized acquisition strategy.

An immersive digital experience designed in record time

Overview

La Fête de l’Humanité, a major cultural and political event, gathers thousands of participants annually for concerts, debates, and meetings. In 2020, facing health restrictions, La Fête de l’Humanité entrusted Cosa with the mission to digitize its edition. Our teams rose to the challenge by creating an innovative online immersive experience.

Context

The decision to digitize the event was made late, leaving little time to act. The challenge was to preserve the festival’s community and festive spirit during a global pandemic while leveraging the opportunities offered by digital tools.

Briefly

In one month, Cosa transformed La Fête de l’Huma into an innovative digital edition, reaching 1.6 million people through a multi-platform livestream, an immersive interactive website, and an optimized acquisition strategy.

Results / Impacts

1.6 million people reached

600 000 participants on X, Facebook, and YouTube

1 million minutes viewed

40 hours of program broadcasted

25 people mobilized in production teams

3 project managers, 3 graphic designers, and 3 developers dedicated to the project

20 mockups created and 5 templates developed

Solutions

A targeted acquisition strategy

We produced a motion design video that was shared on the festival’s and newspaper’s social media channels to promote the digital edition and inform the public. Faced with feedback from loyal attendees sometimes disoriented by this new format, we adjusted our strategy in real-time through targeted tests. These tests allowed us to refine sponsorships, expand the audience while keeping advertising costs under control.

A multi-platform livestream

At the heart of the project was a three-day immersive livestream (Friday 11th to Sunday 13th September), running daily from 10 AM to midnight. Broadcast simultaneously on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch, it featured:

18 concerts (live, delayed, and archived)
15 debates, including 7 live sessions
9 interviews/agoras/panels

We managed both live and pre-recorded streams while ensuring optimal quality. A restart system after each program attracted new viewers. Additionally, a dedicated team ensured moderation to prevent any incidents during the live broadcast.

An interactive website

To maintain the international village spirit of La Fête de l’Humanité, our teams designed an interactive website offering:

A virtual map of festival spaces for easy access to events.
A page for participant discussions (“Les Copains de la Fête”).
An interactive map of associative initiatives created with Wemap.

In just one month, our teams developed three graphic identities, 20 desktop and mobile mockups, as well as five different templates. The website extended beyond the festival weekend; it became a living platform allowing La Fête de l’Huma to exist year-round.