Elrow: Fiscal Incentives and Public Funding in Bizkaia

• Bizkaia’s Provincial Council provided tax incentives for 36 Elrow festival activities between 2023 and 2025, even though only one event took place in Bizkaia.
• Elrow, owned by the KKR-backed Superstruct group, also received €195,000 in direct subsidies and an €83,455 contract from the Bilbao Exhibition Center (BEC).
• Activists and artists have campaigned against the group due to KKR's investments in Israeli armaments, surveillance technology, and real estate in the West Bank.

Fiscal and Financial Support

• Elrow moved its tax domicile from Catalonia to Euskadi in 2023, citing the appeal of Bizkaia's cultural tax incentives.
• The company utilizes local legislation allowing for up to a 50% deduction on production and exhibition expenses for live shows, regardless of where the events occur globally.
• Beyond tax breaks, the group secured €195,000 in grants from the Department of Economic Promotion and an €83,455 payment from the BEC, a public-participated entity, for "musical promotion."

Ethical Concerns and Boycotts

• Critics point to KKR’s financial links to Israel, including investments in companies like NSO Group (Pegasus spyware) and property platforms operating in East Jerusalem.
• Multiple artists have boycotted festivals under the KKR umbrella, including Monegros Desert Festival, Elrow Ibiza, and OFFSónar, citing concerns over complicity with the situation in Gaza.

Corporate Structure and Institutional Ties

• Elrow’s 12 Bilbao-domiciled subsidiaries are administered by Gala Marketing Advisory, a firm linked to the Paradise Papers.
• The company’s regional presence has been bolstered by strategic hires with backgrounds in the PNV party and the BBK Foundation, which maintains deep institutional influence in the Basque economy.