2023-08-18 10:46:59
It is a frank and massive recovery after the health crisis. This summer, the festivals are full. “This record attendance is undoubtedly very much linked to the post-Covid desire to meet in collective moments. It also responds to a current slump. Faced with our times, it is reassuring to meet again, to see that the conviviality is still there”, says Jean-Philippe Mauras, artistic director of the Interceltic Festival of Lorient (1).
On a smaller scale, the Plage musicale en Bangor festival, in Belle-Île-en-Mer (Morbihan), boasts a great success. “The public was attracted by our headliners – Laurent Voulzy, the Wanderer trio – and by our original proposals, musical cruise, concert of eight cellos on the beach…”, rejoices its artistic director, Christophe Beau.
In Bussang (Vosges), François Rancillac, director of the People’s Theater association, which is holding its festival until September 2, sees its ticket office soar. « Pour Cyrano de Bergerac, we were counting on 14,300 spectators, we are at nearly 17,000! »
7,300 festivals in France
“The growing success of festivals is an anthropological phenomenon. The public is attracted to these cultural events because of their conviviality. There is a social emulsion there, even if the working classes remain under-represented”, analyzes Emmanuel Négrier, CNRS research director at the University of Montpellier. According to its recent survey (2), “festivalisation” has accelerated over the past two decades, which have seen the creation of two thirds of the 7,300 listed on the territory.
However, the festivals do not have time to savor their beautiful summer evenings: they are developing the next edition, which will be complicated by the Paris Olympic Games, organized from July 26 to August 11, 2024. The Minister of the interior Gérald Darmanin announced in October 2022 “the postponement or cancellation of major sporting or cultural events” in the summer of 2024 because of the mobilization of law enforcement for the Olympics. Since these abrupt remarks, a consultation has been initiated and compromises are emerging.
The Interceltique organizes the largest urban gathering in France, the Grande Parade and its 900,000 annual spectators in the streets of Lorient. A real headache! “We were warned well in advance by the ministries of culture, the interior and sports. I started working on the 2024 edition in September 2022,” explains Jean-Philippe Mauras.
“Seen from Brittany, one has the impression that the Olympic Games are a Parisian event. We are surprised that this sporting event has such an influence on our cultural event. It impacts the whole territory when we have no event in the region”, regrets the director of the Interceltique.
In 2024, this festival will be shorter and offbeat, from August 12 to 18. Another change: no Celtic country will be invited, like this year Ireland. “We will highlight youth, a promising theme that delights everyone. » The Avignon Festival or the Radio France Occitanie Montpellier festival have also already moved their dates. But Jazz in Marciac, which took place this year from July 20 to August 6, has not yet found the right slot…
New discussions with the Ministry of Culture
Transport more expensive or crowded, security problems, lack of staff, logistical difficulties, withdrawal of patrons… Everything will be complicated however for the festivals in 2024, and in particular for the little ones. “I hope that France will not stop shooting because there are the Olympic Games in Paris! », launches the director of the People’s Theater.
Claire-Marie Le Guay, artistic director of the Dinard International Music Festival, is worried. “The Caisse d’épargne Bretagne Pays de Loire announced to us that it was going to temporarily withdraw its support for us in 2024, their sponsorship being 100% oriented in favor of the Olympic Games. » Matthieu Ducos, director of Rock en Seine, promises to “stay alert to (their) construction site which begins at the beginning of August, during the Olympics”.
At the start of the school year, the professional unions representing the festivals are preparing for new discussions with Rima Abdul Malak, Minister of Culture, to better define the outlines of summer 2024.
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An exceptional attendance
Of the 7,300 festivals held in France, 44% are musical events and 40%, including the biggest, are held in the summer. Half takes place in the four regions of southern France.
First results for 2023:
Lorient Interceltic Festival: 900,000 people and 165,000 tickets sold (+30%).
Festival d’Avignon : 115,000 spectators (+10%) in the “in” and 2 million tickets sold in the “off” (+20%).
Solidays, in Paris: 260,000 festival-goers (+5%).
The Old Plows, in Carhaix (Finistère): 346,000 visitors (+23%).
The Nights of Fourvière, in Lyon: 166,000 spectators (+8%).
Aix-en-Provence Lyric Festival: 75,000 spectators (+5%).
Musical beach in Bangor, in Belle-Île-en-Mer: 4,900 spectators (+60%).
Sources : Festivals and Observatory of cultural policies
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