France: summer festivals in crisis

In 2018, at the Eurockéennes festival (illustrative image).

SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP

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2 min

What summer for festivals in France?

Faced with the deterioration of the health situation and increasingly strict restrictions, the major summer festivals are juggling more than ever between maintaining or canceling their 2021 edition.

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To be there or not to be there this summer is the question that the biggest music festivals in France are currently asking themselves.

Not knowing on which foot to dance, many have thrown in the towel, like Solidays in Paris or Art Rock in Brittany, and deplore the lack of prospects.

Reduced gauges

Few are those who try to play the game despite the gauges reduced to 5,000 people seated and distanced.

For Malika Seguineau, general manager of the National Syndicate of Musical and Variety Show (Prodiss), “ 

whether it is the Vieilles charrues or the Francofolies, at this stage, they are trying everything for everything and they are trying to register in the new framework.

For those who made the decision to cancel, there are too many unknowns in the equation today, since we still do not have the health framework.

We don't know if the capacity will be 35% or 65%. 

" 

Bet on 2022

Instead of taking risks in 2021, most festivals prefer to bet on 2022. Or question their audience: according to a survey by Eurockéennes de Belfort, 72% of festival-goers reject the idea of ​​attending concerts wisely seated and masked. 

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To read also: France-coronavirus: in Paris and Marseille, “test concerts” under strict health protocol

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