What do festivals represent in France?
France has several thousand festivals, which makes it the first cultural phenomenon in the country. These events play a fundamental role in the territories: they are found in every region, in municipalities of all sizes. And their anchoring is very important. The dynamic comes from the territories; it incorporates local social and economic ecosystems. In addition, festivals work with very different types of audiences. In particular, they affect citizens who are not reached by permanent structures.
Another particularity, the festivals are of great diversity: this can range from the small baroque music festival in a mountain church to the very well-known one in Avignon for the theatre…Their terms and conditions can also vary. Most often, the life of the festivals is concentrated over a limited period, but some events are held over two months, like the nights of Fourvière, in Lyon. In the metropolis of Lille, the Latitudes contemporaines festival lasts three weeks and is held in around twenty different structures.
Is festival attendance impacted by the current crises?
A festival is above all a festive moment. We come as a couple, with friends, in a group, to find ourselves at the heart of an event, to socialize. Currently, we are going from crisis to crisis. It seems quite likely to us that once the political deadlines have passed, the French will want to reconnect with the sharing of emotions… For the moment, we are at the very beginning of the season and the data is therefore still far away to be complete. But the first indications are not very worrying. We expect attendance about 15% lower than usual, on average.
Compared to theaters and cinemas, which suffered a sharp drop in attendance, up to 35%, the start of the season is quite good. The first festival of the season to be held, the Printemps de Bourges, reached an occupancy rate of 20% lower than usual. But the Nuits de Fourvière, with their 2,000 seats, are packed. And during a presale of 11,000 tickets for the Avignon festival, everything went in four hours…
What challenges do professionals face?
All costs increase. Private operators must also absorb the increases, of course, but in the hotel industry, there is a windfall effect. However, there was already a structural problem: in Avignon, the festival-goer’s basket is made up of 20% of tickets and 80% of hotels, restaurants… The costs will become unaffordable for visitors! This economy that unfolds from festivals, shoots itself in the foot.
Furthermore, we are facing another difficulty, a loss of love for performing arts. During the crisis, many of those who devote their lives to culture have suffered from seeing it labeled as non-essential. In addition, the “stop and go” has created very taxing management complexities. Today, festivals are being set up, but with difficulty. The Bourges festival, for example, had difficulty finding staff. And yet another phenomenon worries us. Recently, some festivals have lost a source of income: they have seen the contribution of their private patrons disappear or diminish. This risks forcing them to increase the price of tickets, which will then become inaccessible to certain audiences.
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