Sundance is leaving Utah, moving to Colorado
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 25: The Egyptian Theatre marquee on Main Street is seen during the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2019 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by,)
A version of this story originally appeared in Utah News Dispatch.
After more than four decades of calling Utah and Park City home, the Sundance Film Festival is leaving in 2027.
The Sundance Film Institute announced on Thursday that festival organizers have decided to move to Boulder. The Colorado Senate gave preliminary approval Thursday to a bill that would offer the film festival up to $34 million in tax credits over 10 years. The House already approved the bill, and the Senate will need to vote on it again before it goes to Gov. Jared Polis' desk for a signature.
Utah was one of three finalists bidding to host Sundance after its contract expires following the 2026 festival. Earlier Thursday, news broke that organizers did not choose Cincinnati, leaving just Utah and Colorado in the running. Sundance's announcement later Thursday afternoon sealed the deal for Boulder.
'This decision was informed by a detailed evaluation of the key components essential to creating our Festival. During the process, it became clear that Boulder is the ideal location in which to build our Festival's future, marking a key strategic step in its natural evolution,' said Ebs Burnough, Sundance Institute Board Chair.
Drama over Utah's bid to keep Sundance heats up over LGBTQ+ flag ban bill
The decision also comes after some final-hour drama added a wrinkle to Utah's bid. The 2025 Utah Legislature approved a bill aimed at banning pride or LGBTQ+ flags in schools and all government buildings, which its supporters said is meant to promote 'political neutrality' in government spaces.
Earlier this month, the Hollywood news site Deadline reported that bill, HB77, could pose 'an eleventh-hour obstacle to the Beehive State's hopes of keeping' Sundance. The outlet quoted an unnamed 'Sundance insider' expressing frustrations with the bill and calling it a 'terrible law, a terrible look for the state.'
'No matter what they say, we all know who it's aimed at — the LGBTQ+ community, and that's unacceptable,' the outlet quoted that insider saying.
Colorado's Democratic governor, Jared Polis, a longtime Boulder resident, welcomed the announcement and highlighted the economic boost the festival is expected to bring to the state.
'I'm beyond excited to welcome the Sundance Film Festival to Colorado starting in 2027,' Polis said in a statement. 'Here in Colorado we also celebrate the arts and film industry as a key economic driver, job creator, and important contributor to our thriving culture. Now, with the addition of the iconic Sundance Film Festival, we can expect even more jobs, a huge benefit for our small businesses including stores and restaurants, and to help the festival achieve even greater success.'
The announcement came after Utah's bid committee — made up of officials from Park City, Visit Park City, Summit County, Salt Lake County, Visit Salt Lake, the state of Utah, Salt Lake City and Utah's philanthropic community — spent nearly an entire year forming a bid package that included tens of millions in in-kind and cash public funding, plus even more in private commitments.
Park City and Salt Lake City are both Democratic strongholds in an otherwise deeply conservative state.
In total, Utah's bid included more than $54.1 million in public cash commitments over 10 years. That included an additional $24.9 million in new cash commitments over the life of a 10-year contract, on top of about $29.2 million that had already been committed to Sundance over 10 years, according to bid committee officials. That would have equaled nearly $2.8 million in new annual public funding committed to the film festival, on top of about $2.7 million that was already committed, bringing the total annual public cash that was on the table to more than $5.5 million a year for 10 years.
The 2025 Utah Legislature appropriated $3.5 million in their budget this year for the film festival, upping the state's annual commitment by about $1.62 million a year.
But it wasn't enough to entice Sundance to stay.
'Bye Felicia,' the Senate sponsor of the flag ban bill, Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, posted on X in response to the Deadline article. 'Sundance promotes porn. Sundance promotes alternative lifestyles. Sundance promotes anti-lds themes. Sundance does not fit in Utah anymore.'
It's not clear how much the pride flag ban factored into festival organizers' decision to leave Utah. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has yet to sign or veto that bill, though Thursday is his deadline to act. He told reporters in a news conference last week Sundance organizers told leaders 'very clearly that political issues have nothing to do with the decision.'
But Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, who was involved along with other city and state leaders on Utah's bid, told reporters Friday she worried that the flag ban could indeed jeopardize efforts to keep Sundance.
'I think there's a strong track record of bills that have changed the outcome of locations of major sporting events and major conventions,' she said. 'I think it would be harmful to our effort to retain Sundance.'
She also reiterated calls for Cox to stop the bill in its tracks.
'My encouragement from my lips to God's ears is that Gov. Cox will veto HB77,' she said. 'It is not reflective of the values of this community, of our capital city, and I think of many of the businesses who choose to locate here because of the welcoming and inclusive culture of Salt Lake City. We are an asset to the state of Utah because of our welcoming position to diversity and LGBTQIA rights.'
This story is developing and will be updated.
Colorado Newsline's Lindsey Toomer contributed to this report.
Utah News Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Utah News Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor McKenzie Romero for questions: info@utahnewsdispatch.com.
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