The Solidays festival, scheduled by Solidarité Sida from June 19 to 21, has been canceled due to the coronavirus, founder Luc Barruet told AFP.
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" We thought we would postpone to September, but there would still be too much uncertainty, " detailed Luc Barruet , founding director of the association Solidarité Sida and Solidays. We are forced to cancel. More than 65% of the ticket office had already been sold and we were on track to beat last year's attendance record of 228,000 spectators at the Longchamp racecourse ”.
The patron of the festival estimates that " a little over 3 million euros " will be missing from Solidarité Sida, support in 2019 of 108 patient aid projects carried out by nearly 80 partner associations in 22 countries. Aid programs that made perfect sense as the Covid-19 epidemic hit African countries " with already very weak health systems ".
Dotted
"We will have to fight and find solutions to raise this sum," continues Luc Barruet . We will ask our public and private partners to maintain their subsidies and support despite the cancellation . ” " We ask those who can not ask for reimbursement of tickets already purchased. They will not be valid for a future edition. It would be an act of solidarity for the projects funded by Solidays, further specifies Mr. Barruet. But a reimbursement procedure will be put in place, for those who wish . ”
" There is no question of making anyone feel guilty," adds AFP Antoine de Caunes , honorary president of the association and the festival. But solidarity is at the heart of this festival like no other, which redistributes its recipes to the programs and associations with which it has worked from the start . ”
" The future is dotted, including for the Solidarité Sida association," adds Barruet . We need to find the resources for this year's projects by June 20. This is the priority. When you are an activist, there is no question to ask. We must face the emergency and go back to the front, with enthusiasm. Then, only, we can think of organizing a 22nd edition next year ”.