Every summer, music festivals bring together thousands of people who vibrate together to the sound of concerts. But not everyone has the chance to taste this delight. This year and for the first time, the Francofolies festival in La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) has decided to make a gesture of solidarity by introducing “deferred tickets”. Objective: to offer tickets to people who cannot afford them, so that they too can benefit from this experience.
Launched in December 2021, in collaboration with Secours Populaire, this unprecedented operation is directly inspired by the Neapolitan concept of “suspended coffee”. This means that in addition to your own coffee, you buy a coffee to offer it to a person in need. For the next edition, which will take place from July 13 to 17, 2022, the Francofolies festival has proposed a similar device at its ticket office, as reported the Parisian† The principle is simple: it is “suggestions [aux] festival-goers, when they buy their seat, to contribute 1 to 50 euros depending on their abilities to form a cat that can be converted into suspended tickets”explains Émilie Yakich, the director of “Francos”, interviewed by the daily newspaper.
Earlier, the festival already offered some places to the Secours Populaire de Charente-Maritime, as well as food surpluses from the event. But thanks to this solidarity initiative, the beneficiaries of the association can go to the Francos and choose their concerts themselves, just like other festival goers. “There will certainly be a lottery among interested parties”specified with the Parisian Dalila Benboukha, the festival’s department secretary.
Already collected 2,450 euros
Nearly 1,150 people have already made a donation to fund these solidarity tickets. In total, the Francos are said to have raised almost 2,450 euros the Parisian, that’s the equivalent of 52 seats offered to beneficiaries of Secours Populaire. The festival’s partner companies can also participate in the operation.
Several festivals have already made contact with the Francofolies, interested in this unique and unified concept. “This idea, which will allow us all to gather around the festival, is meant to last over time”, assures Émilie Yakich, director of the La Rochelle festival. The “suspended tickets” have not yet said the last word and should therefore be offered again in 2023 and 2024, indicates The HuffPost†
A welcome concept that rhymes with music and sharing. Note that it is still possible to make a donation on the Francofolies website, where the financing of “suspended tickets” is offered until the end of June.