Florent Maréchal of Solidarité Sida looks back on the missions of this festival like no other

As the solidarity festival prepares to turn up the volume from Friday June 28 on the lawn of the Longchamp Hippodrome, in order to once again raise funds for prevention and the sick, one of the leaders of Solidarité Sida responded to the questions from Franceinfo Culture.

Gazo, Pomme, SDM, Sam Smith, Laurent Garnier, Mika, TIF, Louise Attaque, Santa, Flavien Berger: the 26th edition of Solidays hosts eighty concerts over three days, from June 28 to 30, 2024, on the lawn of the Longchamp Racecourse. But Solidays, which last year broke its attendance record with 260,000 people, is not a festival like any other. Organized by the Solidarité Sida association, it has always served to raise awareness and raise funds for patients. It has also made it its mission to connect associations defending other causes with festival-goers, in order to arouse their commitment.

In 2024, do young people still feel concerned by AIDS? How much does Solidays raise and where do the funds go? We take stock with Florent Maréchal, director of prevention programs at Solidarité Sida.

Franceinfo Culture. We tend to forget it a little, but Solidays is organized by the Solidarité Sida association, which makes it a different festival. In your opinion, do the young people of 2024 feel concerned about AIDS? Do we still need to raise awareness?
Florent Maréchal : I think that we must always, always raise awareness, both in the fight against AIDS and in matters of STIs (sexually transmitted infections). Young people are perhaps a little less aware today of the reality of AIDS throughout the world, because in France we practically no longer die from it, unlike at the time of the first edition. of Solidays in 1999. However, I would say that young people remain no less united from the moment we sharpen their curiosity, when we talk to them about the daily struggle and the reality experienced by people living with HIV. And then talking about sexual health also means talking about relationships with others, consent, relationships, emotional life, sexual orientation, in short, all these subjects which currently preoccupy young people because they part of their construction.

This year, there is even a “talk” that you are hosting on pleasure, to give some pep to the flagging libido of young people – it is written on the Solidays website that one in three young people has not had sexual intercourse in 2023…
Effectively. We do prevention, but in a positive way. This is reflected in particular at the Social Club, our conference space where we bring inspiring personalities. A round table will be devoted to pleasure and libido among young people. We also have a Sex in the city space, a 400 square meter exhibition with a fun sexual health prevention course entirely created by our teams, where all subjects are discussed without taboo, and in a fun and playful way. This is the know-how and strength of Solidarité Sida, to put together a rich program of 80 artists capable of capturing young audiences, while knowing how to speak to them and giving them the power to act.

Solidays has also broadened the cause to disability in general, from deafness to mental health.
In the associative village, the Village Solidarité, around a hundred associations are present, which of course defend sexual health but also other causes. We have associations dedicated to young people with reduced mobility, others who fight against exclusion, who fight against sexist and sexual violence, others in the field of sustainable development. This represents 1,200 activists, all causes combined, present for 3 days and who all together try to raise awareness among the youngest. At Solidays, where the majority of the public is under 25 years old, we are convinced of being a formidable ground for engagement, a bridge between young festival-goers in search of meaning on one side and associations on the other. in search of living forces. Last year, we took on the challenge of creating 25,000 solidarity vocations, we are relaunching it this year.

We really challenge the associations that we invite to the festival based on the volunteer missions that they can offer to young people to make them want to then open the door of an association.

Florent Maréchal of Solidarity AIDS

at Franceinfo Culture

Speaking of volunteering, artists don’t really perform voluntarily, but are they making a gesture by lowering their fees?
Yes, yes, some really do it voluntarily! But we’re not going to lie, it’s also increasingly difficult for artists in this inflationary context, nevertheless everyone is making a big effort. Solidays could not be what it is if everyone did not play the game. In this great chain of solidarity, artists are one of the essential links, but they are not the only one. There are also all the service providers and above all, our 2,500 volunteers. Without them, we could not do Solidays, or in any case we could not conceive of it as a fundraising tool.

What is the money raised by the festival used for? Who do you redistribute it to? And how much money does that represent?
This represents more than 2 million euros which are donated in the form of grants to 84 associations fighting AIDS in France, including in Guyana and Mayotte, and in 20 countries. These associations welcome and support people living with HIV throughout the year. That represents 118 projects thanks to the 2023 edition and 200,000 people supported in total, it’s considerable! At Solidarité Sida, we are also active in prevention throughout the year, and our teams travel the roads of France to intervene with high school students in particular. We raise awareness among approximately 20,000 young people in France each year.

The Solidays musical program is once again very rich. There are also young rappers like Gazo, PLK, Georgio, Zola or Vacra, as well as Louise Attaque and Laurent Garnier. What are your favorites?
I’m not really the target, but it’s true that there is something for everyone because there are also many faithful, attached to the spirit of the festival. It is undoubtedly for them, and I am one of them, that artists like Louise Attaque and Laurent Garnier are on the bill this year. I also like Pomme, Mika and Sam Smith, one of the stars of this edition. Thanks to the TIF programming, I discovered an Algerian rapper who mixes his rap with traditional music. I’m not a connoisseur but I am a fan of festivals. However, too often, between the concerts we have come to see, there is not much to do except eat. This is the strength of Solidays: if no concert interests us for 2-3 hours, there are plenty of spaces at the festival where we can go and have fun. You can go to the Solidarity Village, listen to a conference at the Social Club, go to the Sex in the City Expo, there are rides, there is also the Boombox with Silent disco, lots of very varied things. Wherever you are on the site, you can stay busy, never get bored and what’s more, you feel like you’re being useful. Who says better ?

Solidays takes place on June 28, 29 and 30, 2024 at the Longchamp Hippodrome > see the full musical program.
Friday and Saturday are full but there are still passes for Sunday and Night passes (from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. in clubbing mode).