TikTookay Launches Community Fest Event To Highlight Live Creators

TikTok has launched its latest ”Community Fest” live content event, which will showcase some of the app’s top live creators, as part of a broader push to spark more interest in its livestream offerings.

TikTok’s Community Fest aims to highlight the value of livestreaming for community building, and maximizing connection with your audience in the app.

As per TikTok:

“Running from June 15th through July 5th, Community Fest is TikTok LIVE’s global, in-app event designed to spotlight our vibrant LIVE creator community. Think of it as the warm-up act to LIVE Fest 2025 – TikTok’s months-long global festival celebrating all things LIVE. Community Fest gives creators a chance to grow their audiences, deepen real-time engagement, and celebrate the power of connection through TikTok LIVE.”

TikTok LIVE Fest, which it’s been running since 2023, is a bigger showcase of the app’s live content, with Community Fest highlighting the more specific elements of using livestreams for maximizing audience engagement, and building an active community in the app.

“From cooking and music to education, fishing and gaming and so much more, Community Fest is an invitation for everyone, whether going LIVE, gifting, or just tuning in, to come together, support one another, and share the moments that matter most.”

TikTok is very keen to get more people using its livestreaming element, not only for the community aspects, and driving more engagement, but also as a part of its broader eCommerce push, and getting people to buy products in-stream.

In China, the local version of TikTok, called “Douyin,” has seen huge success with in-app shopping, generating around $US490 billion in gross merchandise sales (GMV) in 2024, a 30% increase year-over-year. Livestream shopping reportedly contributed 60% of that activity.

For comparison, TikTok reportedly generated around $US30 billion in GMV in 2024.

The immediacy and engagement of livestreams helps to enhance shopping interest and activity. And while that compulsive behavior can also have negative consequences as well, you can see why TikTok would be so keen to showcase this as an opportunity, in order to build more hype around livestreaming, both as a means to connect, and eventually, to guide more users towards its shopping experiences.

Which remains its big target. TikTok continues to revise and reform its shopping push, in order to relay its popularity into becoming an online shopping superpower.

Thus far, Western audiences haven’t been as keen on such as those in Asian markets, but there are signs that TikTok shopping is catching on. The platform recently reported that TikTok Shop sales have increased 120% year-over-year in the U.S., while American brands and creators have also hosted over 8 million hours of LIVE shopping sessions.

So there is reason for TikTok to be enthusiastic about the opportunity, which is why its Community Fest and LIVE Fest events could take on additional importance this time around.

Add to this the fact that TikTok could still be ejected from the U.S., with the White House recently extending its sell-off negotiation window till September, and there’s even more impetus for the platform to maximize its opportunities while it can, both as a means to maximize its revenue, and showcase its growing relevance within the U.S. market.

So while it may not be a big event in general terms, it’s a significant promotion and showcase for TikTok.

TikTok has also announced that it’s expanding its LIVE Fest event series to more regions, including Japan, the Middle East and North Africa, as part of a broader celebration of live creators.  

It’s also launched a new “LIVE Journey” activation in the app, which aims to gamify livestream participation:

So, clearly, TikTok’s looking to boost enthusiasm for its livestream offerings, however it can, with a view to the broader opportunities that it can bring.