Essence Fest, New Orleans leaders weigh what's next after contract expires

The big picture: Essence leaders met in New Orleans on Wednesday with Mayor Helena Moreno's steering committee to see if there's a way forward, the administration confirmed.

• Festival organizers want more financial support from the city and state, saying their costs have grown along with their impact.
• The city wants more accountability. It's also re-evaluating its return on investment for all major events, including Essence.
• The state legislative auditor chimed in last week, advising the city to get a thorough accounting of how previous public contributions were spent, The Times-Picayune reports.

Zoom in: Organizers said in a statement that they want to negotiate a "sustainable" multiyear agreement with "shared investment."

• Essence's proposal includes the festival and a year-round presence across southeast Louisiana called Essence 365.
• Sundial Media & Technology Group, the festival's parent company, is asking for $10 million to $12 million annually, with most of that going toward Essence 365.
• The festival currently gets $750,000 annually from the city and the New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Fund, writes Joni Hess with The Times-Picayune.

Yes, but: The steering committee told organizers the multimillion-dollar amount is "simply unfeasible in the current environment," reports Blake Paterson at The Times-Picayune.

• The city is in a fiscal crisis. It's furloughing employees and increasing sanitation rates in an effort to preserve essential services.
• Moreno and the steering committee have raised other concerns too, including late vendor payments and delayed performances at the Caesars Superdome.

The other side: A spokesperson for Sundial tells Axios that the $10 million-plus investment is not a requirement for a contract.

• Essence 365 is a "separate year-round vision developed in response to the city's request" to extend the festival's impact beyond the July event, the spokesperson says.
• The multimillion-dollar investment "was never intended to fall on the city alone," Sundial says, but was to be shared with the state, tourism and hospitality groups, regional businesses, and "other institutions that benefit" from the festival.
• The proposal doesn't ask the city to spend more money on the existing festival, Sundial says.

The intrigue: The committee told Essence last month that it was considering soliciting proposals from Essence and other festival organizers in a competitive bid process, Paterson writes.

• After Wednesday's meeting, a Sundial spokesperson said conversations are continuing with the city, and there wasn't an outcome to share at this stage.
• "What we can tell you is that Essence remains invested in and committed to New Orleans," she said via email.

Threat level: Baltimore is interested in hosting Essence.

• Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott reached out to Essence on Threads earlier this year, suggesting the festival "should be looking for a new home" after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana's Callais case.
• "Holla at me and @govwesmoore," he posted. "Wakanda is ready."
• Scott has been on Essence panels the past two years, according to The Baltimore Sun.

State of play: Essence Fest describes itself as the country's largest annual celebration of Black culture.

• This year, about 88,000 people attended events at the convention center, up 7.9% from last year, organizers say.
• The festival has been held in New Orleans for more than 30 years over the Fourth of July weekend, which is normally a slow time in the city.
• Last year's festival had an economic impact of $321.9 million, organizers say.