Sold-Out Swedish Festival Way Out West Offers Ticket Giveaway For Organ Donors

Would you give your kidney for a festival ticket? Well, now you can. Sort of.

In a nod to the well-trodden FOMO phrase, “I’d give my kidney for a ticket,” Sweden’s Way Out West festival has launched a limited ticket giveaway for hopeful attendees who join Sweden’s National Organ Donor registry.

Featuring star-studded acts like Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, Bicep, Fontaines D.C., Pet Shop Boys, and punk legend Iggy Pop, the three-day festival’s 2025 edition, returning to Slottsskogen Park in Gothenburg, Sweden, from August 8-10, sold out to the general public in record time, according to organizers.

Creatively ensuring that the last remaining tickets go to only the most devoted of festival fans, they’ve now teamed up with Swedish nonprofit More Organ Donation (MOD) to give a special “Kidney Pass” to those who agree to donate their organs after their death.

“We know people would do almost anything to get into Way Out West,” Way Out West festival manager Kimmie Winroth said in a statement. “This time, you can actually do some good. It’s the most meaningful festival ticket you’ll ever get.”

After signing up for the giveaway on Way Out West’s website, Kidney Pass hopefuls are directed to Sweden’s National Organ Donor Registry, operated by the country’s National Board of Health and Welfare, where they can find additional information and join the registry. They’ll then need to send confirmation of their registration to Way Out West to be considered for a pass. Registration does not guarantee a ticket, and only a limited number of passes are available.

Though operations such as heart, lung, kidney, and liver transplants are life-saving medical procedures for people suffering from end-stage organ failure, the number of available donors is dwarfed by the number of hopeful recipients on transplant waiting lists around the world. Kidneys are the most in-demand organ for transplant in Sweden, but sign-ups on the country’s donor registry have decreased by over 30% in recent years, according to MOD.

The Kidney Pass isn’t Way Out West’s first bit of biomedical promo. Last year, the festival hosted an “IVF stage,” where live recordings of its headline performances were played to an audience of sperm and eggs at an off-site laboratory.

For more information or to sign up for Way Out West’s Kidney Pass giveaway, visit wayoutwest.se/kidneypass.

Featured image courtesy: Way Out West.