The “Vino Griego”, the anthem of the Bayonne Rowing rugby club, will not be heard this year. The Bayonne Festival (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), originally scheduled from July 29 to August 2, was canceled due to the Covid-19 epidemic. A decision fraught with consequences for the hundred owners of bars and cafes in the city who welcomed more than 1 million visitors last year.
Back on this historic decision and perspectives with Xina Dulong, owner of the Café des Pyrénées and member of the organizing committee.
How was the holiday cancellation decided?
XINA DULONG. The cafetiers, the peñas (associative bars) and the town hall decided it unanimously, even if it is a real blow for us. Many restaurant owners and cafeterias hoped for a postponement in September, but an event of this magnitude is not prepared in three months. Despite everything, it is new, I have never heard that Bayonne festivals have been canceled. Even in 2015, after the attacks, they took place.
We can imagine the shortfall for coffee makers ...
This meeting represents on average 30 to 40% of our annual turnover, or even much more. This cancellation is in addition to that of the Ham Fair (Editor's note: four days in April) and that of the Music Festival. It's a dark year! Establishments established for a long time will recover, but the most fragile cash rests on the festivities. The pre-holiday period is when the sales of establishments are made. All those who invested this year and thought they would take advantage of this edition to amortize their purchase will be in a critical situation. Some will have to close. The figure of 40% of closings is advanced at the national level, it will be the same in Bayonne.
Are seasonal jobs also threatened?
The “extras” hired for the Holidays will not be recruited. A bar that employs four people during the year needs ten more over the five days. At the same time, the summer season promises to be chaotic, everything is at a standstill. Seasonal jobs of two months or more are therefore also at risk. Annual jobs are not, for the moment, in question, provided that we can quickly resume.
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Are alternatives being considered?
Losses cannot be compensated. They are too important. The city and the coffee shops are nonetheless considering two free events. A first in October, to celebrate the end of the crisis and pay tribute to the nursing staff. We will combine the Ham Fair and the Music Festival with outdoor entertainment, stages and musicians throughout the city. The second will be held over three days, over the New Year, to turn the 2020 page on a positive note. The idea of this festival will be to make people, everywhere in France, want to come to our place, during the school holidays. Even if nothing replaces the Bayonne Festival.
