festival-goers return to the Eurockéennes de Belfort

A ballet of chainsaws, backhoes to clear what could be. In a stand selling chicken, Vanessa recounts the events of the day before on the festival site. “We saw the rain falling, people running”, she recalls. At the time of the gale, during the opening night, tent canvases flew, trees fell to the ground, barriers were swept away. The roof of the big stage was half torn off.

Little by little, everything is back to normal, the big, badly damaged stage is reborn from its ashes. “It was one more blow, that’s for sure.admits the president of the Eurockéennes de Belfort, Mathieu Pigasse. We worked two years to try to come back and open on time on Thursday. Just as we were opening the doors we were hit by a storm. Our passion, our enthusiasm mean that we have to be able to handle these hard knocks.”

Finally, the music resounds, the tests are conclusive. Friday July 1, at the end of the afternoon, the organizers can announce it: the festival will resume on Saturday after the green light from the safety commission. A big relief for the programmer, Kem Lalot. “It’s a huge pleasure, that’s for surehe blurts out. Two years of Covid, two days canceled with great programming…. But the most important thing is that we still manage to restart. All the artists will be present. They all guaranteed us that they were coming, they were all wondering a bit but they will all be there.”

A few hours earlier, he had called the group Last Train, programmed on the big stage. “We learned what had happened at the Eurocks so we sent a lot of strength and courage to the whole team.they confide in a voice note. Above all, we crossed our fingers super strong for the concert on Saturday since we come, we are super playful.

For two days, artists and fellow festival patrons have sent many messages to the director, Jean-Paul Roland. “This is where I also see that there is a family despite everythinghe acknowledges. I’m thinking of Vieilles Charrues, Printemps de Pérouges, Rock en Seine… All the festivals you know have sent us kind words and reading them, of course, gave us even more enthusiasm to continue the adventure. .”

“I think they too understand very well what it means to work for a year with so much energy, technique, to set up these ephemeral cities and to see a kind of false start from the start.”

Jean-Paul Roland, director of the Eurockéennes de Belfort

at franceinfo

And the result is finally here, with finally the first concerts on Saturday. On the bill: Simple Minds, Paul Kalkbrenner, Foals, Izïa and many more…