The general manager of Vieilles Charrues, Jérôme Tréhorel, announces at the microphone of Europe 1 that the public will be allowed to stand during the next edition of the festival, which will be held in Carhaix from August 8 to 18, 2021. Authorization from the prefecture from Finistère which delighted the entire festival team.
INTERVIEW
"It was unexpected."
It is with undisguised joy that Jérôme Tréhorel, general manager of Vieilles Charrues, announces at the microphone of Europe 1 that the festival public will be able to stand during the concerts.
Four months after the announcement of an edition fully seated to respect the health restrictions related to Covid-19, the prefecture of Finistère finally authorizes the festival, which will be held in Carhaix from August 8 to 18, to take place in front of an audience standing.
"This is really great news and a great relief", exults Jérôme Tréhorel.
"It delighted and re-motivated the whole team, two weeks before the start of the editing."
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For Jérôme Tréhorel, this authorization is the result of "a lot of work with the team and with the services of the State" in order to find solutions to "welcome the public in complete safety" while proposing a formula of the Old Plows which comes as close as possible to the "traditionally known festival experience".
"We will almost relive the festivals as before"
"Barely six months ago, we didn't even know if we would have the authorization to hold a festival," recalls the general manager of Vieilles Charrues. "A few weeks ago, it was something that seemed unthinkable to us. And then, by dint of work and with the help of the Prefecture of Finistère, we reworked our system and we further readjusted the organization. prefecture has validated the ten evenings of Vieilles Charrues concerts with the public standing. We also hope that this news will delight the public and the artists. "
It is therefore mission accomplished for the biggest festival in France.
"We are going to relive this sensation of concerts that we have not experienced for over a year and a half. We will almost relive the festivals as before," assures Jérôme Tréhorel.
"Standing was really important to us, even though we had played the sitting game."
The level of 5,000 people maximum is however maintained, against 80,000 in previous years.
Just like the formula of concert evenings, rather than whole days.
Standing .. and without distance?
Will the 2021 Vieilles Charrues festival-goers be able to dance close together or will they be kept in symbolized squares on the ground, as we have seen abroad? "We will ask people to still respect a minimum of distance," warns the director general of the festival, who wants to be reassuring. "What has been clarified recently is that the obligation of 4m² is counted overall, for the entire surface. With 5,000 people maximum per evening, 20,000 m2 of living space is therefore needed for festival-goers. This is our case. "
"Festival-goers will be able to wander freely between the catering areas and the 20,000 m2 living space", continues Jérôme Tréhorel.
"We have very large spaces and we will maintain giant screens, as we usually do on the big stage of the Vieilles Charrues. With this device, we usually see that the public respects these distances more or less."
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The Vieilles Charrues 2021 therefore logically eliminates the bed of chairs initially planned, but maintains a tier at the back of the concert area "for those who want to sit down".
"We will still be on fairly wide time ranges, around 5.30 pm for the doors to open at midnight", indicates Jérôme Tréhorel, who specifies that tables and chairs are also set up, as usual, in the space. catering.
Sanitary pass testing and verification made easy
The director general of Vieilles Charrues believes, however, that "we must remain vigilant" on the health issue. "But we can see the end of the tunnel, because all the lights are on green. We saw with the Prime Minister's announcements this [Wednesday] noon that things are improving and accelerating. We hope that to here at three weeks, it will be even better. "
The festival is currently being organized to check "very easily and simply" the health pass for each festival-goer, which is compulsory to enter.
"We will have proof that they are not carriers of the virus", indicates Jérôme Tréhorel.
"For the public who will not be vaccinated, we are also working to facilitate access to tests, with laboratories, the ARS and Civil Protection. Everyone is working to make sure things go well. is really very encouraging. "
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Everything is therefore in place to guarantee a successful festival, both in terms of health and culture. "We will live ten beautiful evenings of concerts with this program which, like the Vieilles Charrues, is eclectic", analyzes Jérome Tréhorel, citing the presence on stage this year of, in particular, Vianney, Raphaël, Woodkid, Philippe Katerine, Yelle, Apple, Prudence and The Empress. "Everyone goes into Old Plows mode, so that we can relive a summer with live music, and the emotions of the meeting between the public and the artists."