Drake Has Received a $300,000 Government Grant for OVO Fest 2014

Drake has received a grant of 300,000 Canadian dollars, or about US $268,000, from Ontario’s Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport to put toward his annual OVO Fest this year. It will take place August 3rd and 4th and, so far, the only artists announced for it are Outkast and, of course, Drake. A story on Canada’s Global News reports that the money comes from taxpayers. But much like the way the Canadian government provides money to Canadian artists, this sort of funding is not unusual.

Drake: High Times at the YOLO Estate

Each year, a government initiative called Celebrate Ontario helps fund “new and existing Ontario festivals and events enhance their programs.” According to a PDF on their website, OVO is just one of about 10 pages’ worth of events the program is awarding money. Other music fests receiving government money this year include Field Trip – a Toronto fest that this year features Broken Social Scene, Interpol, Fucked Up and other indie-minded bands – which is picking up CAN $99,406, the TD Toronto Jazz Festival, which gets CAN $282,825, and Rock the Park: Gone Country – which spotlights Darius Rucker this year and received $300,000. Other notable recipients include the Toronto International Film Festival, Rogers Cup tennis tournament and Pride Toronto/WorldPride 2014 Toronto, who received the most money from the fund ($620,000), 

OVO Fest will accommodate about 16,000 music fans per day, with tickets ranging from $66.50 for single-day passes to between $124.80 and $347.50 for two-day passes.