See How This Year’s The Atlantic Festival Tapped Into the Heated Election Cycle

The annual event experienced a record year in terms of attendance and sponsorships, thanks to big-name speakers and buzzy topics.

Michele Laufik

October 16, 2024

During the festival, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson shared her life story and new memoir, Lovely One, with staff writer Clint Smith.

Photo: Getty images

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In its 16th year, The Atlantic Festival, which took place in Washington, D.C., at The Wharf Sept. 19 and 20, once again brought together The Atlantic writers and moderators, along with other media organizations, speakers, and attendees, to discuss the most critical issues shaping society today.

The annual event featured interviews, forums, breakout sessions, curated roundtable conversations, book talks with authors, film screenings, and happy hours. Interviewees included U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson; Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi; chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase Jamie Dimon; Cabinet Secretaries Pete Buttigieg, Jennifer M. Granholm, Alejandro Mayorkas, and Janet Yellen; and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

The Atlantic Festival took place in Washington, D.C., at The Wharf Sept. 19 and 20.Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for The AtlanticProgramming covered topics such as global migration, the rise of political polarization, the state of America’s prisons and jails, clean energy, book bans, and, of course, AI. Many of the conversations were underwritten by sponsors such as Microsoft, Lily, and Allstate.

New for 2024, the Innovation Stage was home to programming featuring pioneers, tech giants, and business leaders. And for the first time, organizers also brought in creators to cover the event from a social media perspective.

“We reached out to those [creators] we’d built relationships with in the past year and who seemed to have an interest and understanding of The Atlantic, as well as D.C.-based creators whose interests seemed aligned with festival themes,” explained Candace Montgomery, executive vice president of AtlanticLIVE, the experiential arm of the media brand.

The goal was for the creators to translate the event programming in their own voices for their audiences. Organizers also arranged a meet-and-greet with staff and a tour of The Atlantic office. “We are already brainstorming how we can enhance this effort next year,” Montgomery added.

This year, the fest experienced a record year in terms of attendance and sponsorships, including a 60% year-over-year increase in total revenue, along with a 75% year-over-year increase in ticket sales from the same time last year—bringing the event back to pre-pandemic revenue levels.

During a fireside chat with The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi discussed her new book, The Art of Power.Photo: Getty images“Over the last few years, we have made a strategic effort to evolve the value proposition of the festival and really cultivate the audience to appreciate the ‘offer,’” Montgomery explained. The event’s marketing plan included the usual channels, as well as leveraging its own products such as print, digital, podcasts, and email.

Part of the success can also be attributed to the timing of the festival. “Additionally, our lineup was stacked with big names, and the fact that we are in the most pivotal election cycle of our time definitely worked in our favor,” she added.