After the Hellfest and the Lollapalozza, it is the turn of the Solidays festival to announce the cancellation of its 2020 edition, which was to be held, from June 19 to 21, at the Longchamp racecourse (Paris XVI). Luc Barruet, the founding director of Solidarité Sida and organizer of the event, announces it to us exclusively, while explaining how he came to this decision. A real heartbreak that endangers the whole association, as well as the numerous actions to fight against AIDS (among others) that it carries out.
What is your state of mind today?
LUC BARRUET. It was with great emotion that we made the decision to cancel the 2020 edition of Solidays. This has never happened since its creation, except for one day due to a storm in 2000. I am in shock. This festival is a lot of time and a lot of energy for many people. It is one of the most difficult decisions I have had to make in my life, because I know that the festival represents a lot for its festival-goers. I know some who still have the bracelet (note: which serves as an entry pass) from three years ago around the wrist. There will be crying, I am well aware of it. And then, there are 10,000 of us working on it, ranging from service providers to intermittent workers, including volunteers. One day, a Senegalese imam friend who came for the first time told me that this festival was a pilgrimage. At first, I did not understand, but he explained to me that he saw it that way, because we share moments with his community, it is a place where we feel stronger and which makes the better world. He is right. It was expected by many people again this year. Last year, we were full with 228,000 visitors, we expected to be 230,000 in June, because the site cannot accommodate more people. Without the coronavirus, we would be complete as we speak. We had already sold 230,000 seats within a month of the date. And 65% of the ticket office had left within the first 4 weeks, without the poster having been unveiled yet.
How did you make this decision?
For 15 days, we have been thinking about it. Even if the hope was there, the doubt was also increasingly present. We first tried to postpone the festival in early September. But we are not even sure that it could have happened at that time too. Emmanuel Macron will surely extend the ban on the gathering of more than 100 people tomorrow evening, and we do not know until when. But in all likelihood, there will not be any during the two summer months, or even until the beginning of September. Adding to everyone another three months of uncertainty was untenable. This meant that until August 10, we were not yet going to know the outcome. Not to mention that we would not know either if the Longchamp racecourse would be free at that time, because for the moment, the races are also stopped. And nobody knows the France Galop program (Editor's note: site manager) . We wanted to avoid an even worse scenario than the one we are experiencing: a postponement followed by a cancellation. Even though we fought with all our might, we have no choice. Our French headliners, like PNL, Niska, Justice or -M- had assured us that they would be available in September.
How do you envisage the future?
It is clear that the future of the festival arises. Last year, it brought in 3.2 million euros, which enabled us to carry out a multitude of actions in more than 22 countries. Today, these actions are compromised. We will not have this return of money this year, and we have already committed 400,000 and 500,000 euros for this edition. Between April 20 and June 20, the date on which the festival was to take place, we must therefore find a way to recover this amount. We hope that public subsidies will still be paid to us and that private partners will do the same. We would also like certain festival-goers not to be reimbursed for their seats either. At Solidays, we never play on the sensitive rope, but we want to give people the reflex of solidarity to help us during this period. I cannot believe that we will not find a collective solution. And then, on the weekend of June 20, we will do a mini-Solidays in another form… to be determined. This Covid-19 crisis gives us pause to think about what is essential and about the next world, perhaps more different, more collective. And the actions of Solidays, it is concrete for a lot of patients, of associations which recruit their members during the event. All of this must be saved.
What is the next step ?
The fact that Solidays will not take place is going to be a shock for everyone, we are well aware of this. Another piece of news in the terrible period that we are experiencing. But if we manage to overcome this ordeal, next year we will make the most beautiful edition of Solidays. The real antidote to the coronavirus is solidarity, not withdrawal.
A blow for Africa
In 2020, thanks to the revenue from the 2019 edition of Solidays, Solidarité Sida supports 108 patient aid projects, led by nearly 80 partner associations in 22 countries. In total, 150,000 people on 3 continents benefit from Solidarité Sida's actions, 85% of which take place in Africa. “We are very worried about the continent, insists Luc Barruet. The coronavirus epidemic in large proportions would be a tragedy. With dramatic consequences, especially on HIV patients, who seek treatment in associations that we help and that can close. Public transport is often no longer available, which prevents patients from getting there. "
If, for the moment, the assessment on the continent is 13,697 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 742 deaths, the figures do not necessarily reflect the reality of the situation ... and the means are not there. "There are only 15 resuscitation beds and 11 artificial respirators in Burkina Faso, for 20 million inhabitants," cites Luc Barruet as an example. In this country, the ALUBJ association, helped by Solidarité Sida, continues to do HIV prevention, but also goes to neighborhoods to inform and distribute hygiene products to those who do not have access to water, as part of the fight against the virus. Not to mention that HIV caregivers were the first to care for Covid-19 patients. An action more essential than ever.