Confolens International Folklore Festival surviving despite deficit

Description:

It is no secret that the Festival International de Folklore de Confolens is in a delicate situation, and organisers have had to take action to reduce overheads in order to save the popular annual event.

Faced with a deficit of 110,000€ in autumn 2008, the event was in trouble, despite posting consistently healthy visitor numbers.  The organisers took the drastic action of laying-off one of the paid staff, and for 2009 they are developing a more concentrated programme of events, whilst reducing ticket prices for paid concerts.

2008 proved to be a difficult year, with reduced subsidies, poor weather and increasing fuel prices all contributing to a large budget deficit, but at a meeting of the General Assembly last Friday, officials were adamant that there is no intention to give up on the event, which is now in its 52nd year.

Instead, with the deficit now reduced to 58,000€, organisers are trying to balance the competing objectives of keeping the festival popular, bringing down prices and garnering the support of local government agencies.  The aim of the team is to get the finances back on track over the next three years, in order to safeguard the future of the event.

2009 will see reduced ticket prices and a more condensed programme of entertainment, between 10 and 16 August.  Countries represented include Belarus, Brazil, Ivory Coast, France, Cook Islands, Malaysia, Peru, Puerto Rico, Russia, Chile, Colombia and the Solomon Islands.

Like this story? Why not use our RSS feed and receive updates as soon as they are posted? Or join us as a member and receive a monthly newsletter.