The Tale of Two Cities and two festivals: Avignon & Dubrovnik Dr Dragan Klaic Leiden University European Festival Research Project Le Mans research workshop 18 November 2006
Genesis Avignon Dubrovnik accidental 1947 Jean Vilar TNP medieval Papal city, Court d’honeur and other locations only own productions till mid 1960s classical rep, high culture international promo of the French culture Paris tutelage imitative (Avignon) 1950 Dr Marko Fotez medieval city state various directors, festival ensemble and guest productions + classical music/international artists Greeks, Držić, Krleza, Shakespeare, Vojnović internat’l promo of the YU culture Zagreb dominance
Evolution Avignon Dubrovnik other French directors slowly an internat’l component Provence, a tourist mecca: highways, TGV 1968 upheaval OFF program Other South of France festivals Decentralization, multiple public financing Croat, YU & foreign directors 40 urban sites deployed Adriatic tourism growth, airport, charters, yachts no political controversies occasional off program Split festival competition YU federalism & ZGB/DBK tensions
Crisis & continuity Avignon Dubrovnik Intensive internationalization extra-European programs 2003 strike and cancellation new leadership & formula: central artist programmatic coherence OFF explosion & discursive escalation 2005 polemics re J Fabre internat’l media attention Ltd. internationalization 1991 bombing and prolonged DBK isolation after 2000, tourism grows, core audience lost 2 festival ensemble productions and classic music business as usual/context radically altered tourism marginalizes the festival internation’ly insignificant
Indicators compared Avignon Dubrovnik inhabitants university, continuous theater productions 3 weeks in July 30 productions ticket sold 800+ shows in OFF comb. subsidy € 4mln econ impact € 35 mln+(?) festival IS the primary tourist magnet inhabitants nascent university, contin. theater production 45 days July-Aug 2 new productions, 2 old tickets sold no off program 1 million € subsidy & € 1 million sponsors + own income econ impact very limited Fstl NOT a tourist magnet
Critical sustainability factors Historic sites, site specific challenge Attractive tourist zone Connected to national cultural infrastructure & its development Prominence gained through internationalization Major public resources invested Programming renewal, conceptual change Strong autonomous leadership Reflection, discourse, polemic, media exposure Partnerships, communication, sponsorship Tourist industry not allowed to usurp the festival, festival determines the tourist appeal Audience diversification
Possible further comparisons needed in order to check the key sustainability factors Quality festivals in historic places, high tourist exposure: Salzburg Aix en Provence Spoletto Rimini Maggio Fiorentino Granada Athens Epidaurus (c) D. Klaic 2006