The 70th International Festival of Contemporary Music, titled A Child of Sound, came to an end in Venice on Saturday 24 October, with audiences up by 4% on the previous edition and 40% of them arriving from abroad. Directed by Caterina Barbieri, the festival presented more than 130 artists across over 40 events, including 23 new works, 18 of them world premieres.

The edition's most discussed event was Musica Libera, staged in the cloister of the Giudecca women's prison and built around the therapeutic value of music. It grew out of workshops in which the women held at the institute worked with young musicians from Biennale College Musica and their mentors. Italian press coverage described the event as an experience of rare intensity and emotion, and it was repeated on the closing day as part of the festival's final programme.

The long closing night at the Teatro alle Tese opened with the Italian premiere of Clarissa Connelly's Canons, written for eight-voice a cappella choir. It continued with the Orchestre de nouvelles créations, expérimentations et improvisations musicales performing new works by Barbieri and by Ellen Arkbro, and finished with Singeli music from Tanzania, performed by DJ Travella, Pili Pili Girls and Jay Mitta, one of the fastest electronic styles in the world.

Barbieri described the child of sound as a symbol of revolution and healing, crediting music with a power of communion and spiritual elevation. The festival's Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement went to the Japanese musician Keiji Haino, while the Silver Lion went to the Canadian composer and organist Sarah Davachi, who also gave a solo chamber organ recital during the programme.