The Year of the Celtic Diaspora

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The 41st edition of the Lorient Interceltic Festival was devoted to the theme of the « Celtic Diaspora ». This was reflected in its eclectic programming, featuring artists from places as far off as Mexico, Chile, Guadeloupe and Vietnam.

The festival in numbers :

Over 65,000 visitors per day

1,000 volunteers

111,000 tickets sold

Budget 2011: 5 million euros

Average ticket cost: 16.75 euros

10 sold out concerts including Luz Casal, The Chieftains and Hugues Aufray

80,000 Spectators line the Streets for the Grand Parade

This year, over 80,000 spectators lined the streets of Lorient for the Grand Parade of the Celtic Nations held on the first Sunday of the festival, August 7th. The parade, with over 3,500 participants ; pipebands, dance groups and musicians from all over the world, made its way through the streets of the town culminating in a grand finale at the Moustoir stadium where they were enthusiastically greeted by a large public.

The parade was broadcast on France 3 national tv station and broke record audience numbers from 2006.

A Diverse Line-Up

Some of the headlining acts of this year’s festival included Texas, Luz Casal and The Chieftains.  Texas played on the closing night of the festival at the Port de Pêche delighting the crowds with their catalogue of well-known hits. Luz Casal wowed the crowds with an impeccable performance and The Chieftains played to a sold out venue, sharing the stage with a host of international Celtic musicians such as Carlos Nunez and the San Patricio Pipeband from Mexico.

Breton artists Denez Prigent and harpist Cécile Corbel also enchanted the crowds despite the wet and windy weather.

The French Minister for Culture, Frédéric Mitterrand, attended this year’s festival and announced a grant of 300,000 euros for the next three years.

Acadia, the guest of honour for 2012

Acadia joined the Celtic nations represented at Lorient in 2004. Since then, it has played an active role in the festival. Festival director, Lisardo Lombardia, was delighted to announce that next year’s festival will be devoted to « l’Acadie ».

The 2012 edition of the Lorient Interceltic Festival will take place from the 3rd to the 12th August 2012.

www.festival-interceltique.com

Press contact:
Heymann Renoult Associées - +33 1 44 61 76 76 - l.gillion@heymann-renoult.com