While going from a gauge of 80,000 festival-goers per day to 5,000 maximum, the needs of the Vieilles Charrues in volunteers have fallen.

But no question of being disappointed for Adèle Renazeau, responsible for this pole.

In this totally associative festival, the volunteers are pampered like nowhere else.

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If the Vieilles Charrues were able to provide ten evenings of concerts this year, which Europe 1 brought you to life from July 8 to 18, it is mainly thanks to its volunteers.

But with three artists per evening instead of 15 per day and 5,000 festival-goers maximum against 80,000 usually, the festival had to revise its recruitment downwards: 350 volunteers were mobilized each day, against 1,400 per day in 2019. That year, a total of 7,145 were involved in the smooth running of the Vieilles Charrues.

>> Experience the Old Plows with Émilie Mazoyer on Europe 1 from July 8 to 18

"The most disappointed are those who live further away"

"We left no one behind," nevertheless assures Adèle Renazeau, the employee of the association of Vieilles Charrues responsible for volunteers.

"Many of our regular volunteers absolutely wanted to get back to the festival atmosphere this year."

To disappoint as few people as possible, the festival has favored the oldest regulars.

It also accommodated the volunteer available only one day, whereas it usually requires a commitment of four hours per day, over three days.

A change that made it possible to bring in more people.

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The lack of camping this year also reduced the number of applicants.

"The most disappointed are those who live farther away," explains Adèle Renazeau.

"Some associations from Nantes, Lorient and Rennes were unable to make the trip this year."

"Some associations have had the same stand for 20 years"

One of the peculiarities of the thousands of volunteers of the festival is indeed to be mobilized through the associations of which they are members.

This facilitates exchanges between Adèle Renazeau and the volunteers.

"We have 300 partner associations, sports, cultural, charitable, Scouts. As they are used to the operation of the Old Plows, the old ones can directly train new volunteers. Some associations have had the same stand for 20 years."

Volunteers are mobilized in all positions, with the exception of security, stage and reception hostess positions.

They can be found in restaurants, bars, entrances, parking, the Moneiz stand (which manages the dematerialized currency of the festival), the reception and transport of artists, catering, merchandising, the info point, the cleaning and logistics.

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In addition to this mode of operation, there are spontaneous applications.

The Vieilles Charrues receive an average of 500, throughout the year.

"The festival has always been 100% associative, it has always worked with local friends. And it has remained in its DNA", analyzes the person in charge of volunteers.

Very pampered volunteers and associations

If this operation has been able to continue despite the scale taken by the largest festival in France, it is also because it knows how to take care of its volunteers. Each of them receives a pass to enjoy the entire festival and € 8.50 per day to eat and drink. Once a year, Les Vieilles Charrues also organize a festival of volunteers, a time of reunion where the roles are reversed and the festival teams serve the volunteers. They offer them a meal, a concert and gifts.

Above all, the Vieilles Charrues thank their partner associations during a fundraising evening, adapted to the nature of the association. A particularly important moment for smaller structures and charities. The donations of the Vieilles Charrues reached € 130,000 in 2019. A figure necessarily reduced in 2020, when the festival could not take place.