• Canceled last year due to coronavirus, the Rio Loco festival will take place this year on the meadow of Filters, in Toulouse, from June 13 to 20.

  • For this edition subject to health restrictions, the gauge has been reduced and the duration has been reduced from four to eight days.

  • Ayo, Gaël Faye and Amadou & Mariam are the headliners of this first outdoor festival, an edition dedicated to Africa and its musicians.

It will be the first large-scale outdoor festival of the year before the health restrictions end on June 30.

After a 2020 edition canceled due to coronavirus, Rio Loco returns to the Filters meadow from June 13 to 20, in a revised and corrected configuration to respond to the context of the pandemic.

To be able to maintain this popular world music meeting in Toulouse, its management had to completely revise its organization to meet the new constraints, while maintaining an ambitious program around this “Afrika” edition.

Extended version and reduced gauges

"To spread the attendance of the public and allow as many people as possible to see concerts, we thought of it over eight days, instead of four days, with five to six concerts a day," said Virginie Choquart, the director on Tuesday. of the Music of the Pink City during the presentation of this 26th edition.

To meet government directives, all spectators will be seated and the number reduced to 2,800 people welcomed each day on the two stages, where bleachers will be installed for the occasion.

Over the eight days, it is expected to accommodate 19,000 spectators against more than 50,000 usually.

Hours, curfew version

From June 9, the curfew will take effect at 11 p.m. There is no question of playing extra time on the banks of the Garonne for music lovers, as is customary to celebrate the arrival of summer. “The concerts will really start at 5:30 pm and end at 10 pm. We ask people to be present when the doors open, at 4 pm, because they will be seated and it will take time. The other years, there was a libertarian side, where you could move around, watch a group, or not. It will be more constrained, ”recognizes Herbé Bordier, the artistic director of the festival.

💚Rio Loco Afrika 2021 from June 13 to 20, 2021 at the Prairie des Filters!

🎉



🎟Opening of the ticket office on May 25, get ready to take your presales (limited gauges)! @FatouDiawara @GaelFaye @amazonesafrique @Dobet_Gnahore @blickbassy @raylema pic.twitter.com/O3rVb8vGh6

- Rio Loco (@Rio_Loco) May 18, 2021

In "sanitary pass" mode

If they do not yet have all the guidelines in hand, the festival organizers already know that spectators must have a health pass to be able to attend the concerts, which will be valid from June 9 for all. events of this type.

Wearing a mask will also be compulsory, as will respect for barrier gestures, with appropriate directions of movement on the site.

“We are still working with the prefecture on the subject.

Spectators will normally have to have their health pass, in the form of a QR code to show at the entrance, showing either that they are vaccinated, or that they have a PCR test of less than 48 hours, ”continues Virginie Choquart who should have confirmation of these measures shortly.

Adapted programming

If the health measures concern the public during the festival, they also had an upstream impact on the programming.

“Many artist tours have been canceled because they come from countries with strong health constraints, such as South Africa or Algeria.

We have been working on programming for two years and we have succeeded in having artists from 20 different countries, ”says Hervé Bordier.

From rap to African rumba, the general public will be able to discover an eclectic program from Congo, Mali or Burkina Faso.

Alongside renowned singers like Ayo, Amadou & Mariam or Gaël Faye, he will be able to discover the talents of Manu Dibango's son, James BKS, or the crazy hip-hop of Fokn Bois from Ghana.

Day tickets

“We managed to keep this festival going and it's a performance.

It is also an additional financial effort for the town hall, which will have less revenue and more expenditure to enforce health rules.

But it deserved that, for artists and Toulouse residents, ”said Toulouse Culture Assistant, Francis Grass.

The daily rates therefore remain the same as in 2019, at 7.5 euros in presale and 10 euros on site.

But no pass over several days this year, just to "promote the rotation of audiences".

To better regulate flows, the festival also recommends buying tickets online, sales of which began on Tuesday.

And for those who couldn't find one for their favorite artist's concert, a live broadcast will take place on Facebook on D-Day.

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