Paris (AFP)
Solidays, scheduled for June 18 to 20, is the first major French summer festival of contemporary music to be abandoned again this year due to the health crisis: should we fear a new white season?
Solidays's decision comes on top of the first bad signals from abroad with the cancellations of the major Glastonbury events in England and Coachella in the United States.
"It's a difficult decision, but it is our responsibility to take it", details to AFP Luc Barruet, boss of Solidays, an event which brought together 228,000 spectators over three days in 2019 at the Longchamp racecourse, in west of Paris.
"The hopes that we can play this summer, with a big gauge and standing, are hypothetical and weak," he continues.
"The variants linked to Covid-19 have gained ground and projections show that the vaccination will take longer than expected. And a small gauge formula was not viable", adds the official.
Because, it should be remembered, Solidays is used above all to finance the association Solidarité Sida and its 114 assistance programs for HIV patients in 21 countries, "from Montreuil, to the Philippines, via Ukraine", like the underlines Luc Barruet, also founding director of the association.
- Worried Hellfest -
The cancellation of this festival represents a shortfall of 3.5 million euros (same amount as last year) for the action of Solidarité Sida.
Last year, these losses were offset by the maintenance of aid from public institutions - ministries, Ile-de-France region, city of Paris - and support from private partners.
Not to mention the festival-goers who had donated, partially or in full, for the purchase of their ticket.
For this year, Luc Barruet calls again for the generosity and solidarity of public institutions and private partners.
But Solidays did not have time this time to put his tickets on sale.
A "TV project and a mobilization campaign on the dates of the festival" are in the pipeline exhibits Luc Barruet.
Beyond the particular case of Solidays, a shadow hangs over the summer season.
Printemps de Bourges (early May) decided to dispense with its large enclosure (10,000 seats).
More worrying, in an open letter, Ben Barbaud, boss of Hellfest (180,000 people usually, mid-June in Loire-Atlantique) was recently alarmed at a lack of visibility with Roselyne Bachelot, Minister of Culture.
- Sustainability in question -
"Our question is therefore the following", he wrote to him: "with less hospital pressure, combined with a summer period when we know that this virus is less virulent, is it conceivable to consider the holding of our mega events? Or, should we consider from now on that until collective immunity is reached, it will be impossible to put back in place events hosting tens of thousands of spectators? "
A meeting is scheduled for next week between Ms. Bachelot and those in charge of current music festivals.
A key meeting in the eyes of Luc Barruet.
"Solidays is a special case, we have public support and our aim is that it is perhaps easier to find people to help us. But the question of the sustainability of other festivals arises, because they spend money. 'money without knowing if they will be able to play or receive aid in 2021, "he analyzes.
"The issue of large standing gauges must be resolved. Festivals must be allowed to adapt to the constraints and see how far they can be helped. A guarantee fund must be set up, in order to be able to support the risk is what is done for filming in the cinema ", insists Luc Barruet.
The boss of Solidays is educational on the specifics of his branch.
"An electro or urban music festival in a reduced gauge and seated is not possible. It's like saying, the cinemas are reopening, but the spectators will be standing and the lights on".
© 2021 AFP