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By Laëtitia Bernigaud
From August 7 to 16, 2020, we should have celebrated the 50th year of the Festival Interceltique de Lorient, entitled ‘Year of Brittany’, and half a century of contemporary ‘intercelticism’. It is hard to believe 50 years have passed since the arrival in 1971, in Lorient, of the National Bagadoù Championship, the forerunner of the Festival.
In five decades the ‘Fête des Cornemuses’ associated with the first Lorient championship, has become the present Interceltic Festival of Lorient, a contemporary beacon of creative international celtic music, the biggest in the world.
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the protective measures taken to combat this health crisis, forced us to postpone everything we had planned until 2021. Our large programme, partly revealed at the time of the announcement of the postponement, is therefore transferred to next year.
For the first time since its creation, the Interceltic Festival of Lorient would not take place. The city of Lorient, Brittany, and all traditional music followers were faced with a void…
However……. the end of the lockdown in France have allowed the holding of certain events, under precise sanitary conditions, and we decided to organise a unique concert as a reminder that the Interceltic Festival of Lorient is still there and that we are working with energy, determination and enthusiasm to promote the celebration of the Festival’s 50th anniversary in 2021.
The city of Lorient and its surrounding territory can count on us to boost tourism and visitor numbers whenever we can! We are never happier than when tourists and Lorient locals come together to enjoy our interceltic festivities with passion and conviviality. We will always welcome them with open arms.
Consequently, we have organized, in agreement with the authorities and with the municipality’s support and the warm cooperation of Sonerion (the Breton pipe band association), a big concert of bagadoù at the Moustoir Stadium on August 8 from 6pm.
On the bill are four high-level bagad: the Bagad Quimper, the band which has won more titles than any other in Brittany; Cap Caval, the bagad which has won most of the championships in the last ten years, the Bagad Roñsed-Mor of Locoal-Mendon and the bagad from Lorient itself.
For more than two hours, we will give them ‘carte blanche’ for a big party in what will be a reminder of our origins, the arrival of the bagadoù championship in Lorient in 1971. Hence the title of the concert: ‘2020 Celebration of Bagpipes’.
We hope that the concert will be a great night, that you will come in large numbers and that we will meet each other to celebrate live celtic music in Lorient, the interceltic capital!
Ticketing (single) €16 (includes €1 management fee). Concert free for children under 7. Tickets on sale only through FIL online ticketing. 10 tickets maximum per order.
Practical information: Each group will be separated by an empty seat in the stadium. Wearing a mask is compulsory for everyone over 11 in all walking areas, including at stadium entrances. Doors open at 4.30pm. Concert starts 6pm. There may be additional sanitary measures announced before August 8 in order to prepare festival goers for a safe and enjoyable experience.
