The 18th edition was to take place from July 22 to 26 (instead of the end of May as usual), i.e. beyond the limit of July 15 announced by Emmanuel Macron during his televised address, which could leave a slim hope for maintaining the city's emblematic electronic music festival. But Arty Farty, the association that carries Nuits sonores, preferred to be cautious and immediately cancel the 2020 edition which was being rescheduled on these dates. Too many uncertainties. Too much blur. On the health situation, of course, which obviously will not allow the holding of a major public event before the end of the summer. But also of the government and the ghostly Minister of Culture, Franck Riester, absent from the crisis. If in Belgium, for example, the position is clear and logical - no festival until August 31 -, in France we continue to dither and not give answers to the organizers, leaving them to wait, leading a an unequal fight against insurers and banks, which are well on their way to not wanting to play their supporting role, as the case of Hellfest illustrates. Many festivals could disappear purely and simply at the end of this crisis, or else be bought out by the large entertainment groups, nipping in the bud any desire for independence, artistic requirement and local establishment. Or what Nuits sonores embodies.
The organizers declare that “the period initially chosen to reposition the 18th edition of the festival – from July 22 to 26 – is certainly after the pivotal date set in mid-July. However, the Arty Farty team is aware of the untenable nature of this deadline and wishes to give priority in all cases to respecting health constraints, the health of the public and the teams. It is now essential for us, at this stage, to open a new stage of consultation with the partners of the festival, the local and national authorities, the teams and the entire construction chain of such an event, in order to to consider all possible scenarios: further postponement of this 18th edition by the end of 2020 or postponement to May 2021.” The terms of reimbursement and the possible conditions for the postponement of these tickets will be communicated on May 19th.
For Arty Farty, the blow is all the harsher as its entire ecosystem is impacted: Le Sucre is shut down for many more weeks, the restaurant À La Piscine also, the European Lab is also cancelled, Hôtel71 cannot nothing more to organize within its walls, the brand new activity around wine launched with Sanguin is also at a standstill.
"In this unprecedented context, for the Arty Farty teams as for all of our partners, it is essential to take into consideration the economic and social consequences of our decisions: the possible postponement to a later date or the cancellation of the festival depend on a large number of direct and indirect jobs, permanent employees, intermittent workers, many service providers already seriously weakened by this crisis. It is one of the most important cultural actors of the city and the country which is now on the edge of the abyss. And it's not the only one in the city...
