The Wadden Sea Festival in Denmark is based on the idea of integrating the coastal environment in the presentation of contemporary art. Specifically, unique tidal differences are utilized to stage a range of performances. The Wadden Sea Festival serves a dual purpose of enhancing local residents’ sense of place and identity while also attracting visitors to the region. Furthermore, the festival is designed to create regional, national and international liaisons between artists and cultural institutions to improve the cultural attractiveness, hence fostering product and institutional innovations. The present research recognizes the articulated aims of the festival and investigates how a cultural event influences participants’ quality of life (QOL). The study adopts a twofold approach to examine organizers’ expectations as well as the impacts on participants’ short-term subjective well being. The article sets out to probe how a cultural event may enhance QOL and identifies possible drivers in the process.