Despite declining attendance indicators, the OFF festival in Avignon offered more than 1,000 shows to its spectators this year.
Sunday on Europe 1, Nikson Pitaqaj, the delegate director of the festival, evokes "a rather positive return", while the 55th edition marked by the Covid ended on Saturday.
The OFF Avignon festival, a vast theatrical gathering that honors independent companies, ended on Saturday, a week after the end of the Avignon Festival.
This final clap closes a special 55th edition, marked by the context of the Covid-19 epidemic.
The event was thus shaken up by the introduction of the health pass in the middle of the festival period which began on July 7.
Despite declining attendance indicators, Nikson Pitaqaj, the deputy director of the festival, evokes "a rather positive return", Sunday on Europe 1.
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Around 400 shows less than in 2019
With just over 1,000 shows this year, there were admittedly around 400 fewer shows than two years ago. And only two thirds of the number of usual spectators. But Nikson Pitaqaj is especially happy to have managed to organize the event. "We have shown and demonstrated that we can respond and organize shows and festivals without making spectators take risks," he said. "There have always been spectators in the theaters. It's not the crowd, I'm not going to hide it, but despite all that remains positive for all the companies."
When the health pass became compulsory for places of culture welcoming more than 50 people on July 21, it was "a bit of a blow", had entrusted to Europe 1 an employee of a company.