Gaspé, August 12, 2019 - The 16th edition of the Festival Musique du Bout du Monde presented by Loto-Québec in collaboration with Telus ended yesterday and already, the organizers are drawing up a positive balance sheet.
Acting as a showcase for local and international talents, this edition will have reached records of discoveries by highlighting the richness of cultures through musical performances but also other mediums such as dance or puppetry.
Celebrating world music in the greater Gaspé area
The eclectic program will have aroused curiosity and gathered people of all ages and origins around beautiful moments of cultural interaction. From the electric Hubert Lenoir to the wild rhythms of Galaxie, from the Cuban salsa tunes of Alain Pérez y la Orquesta to the Sahelian sounds of Djely Tapa, this rich and diversified program has left no one indifferent.
More than 15,000 entries were recorded between August 3 and 11, 2019. With an attractiveness rate of 54%1, the festival succeeded in its bet by participating in making the greater Gaspé area a planned destination and a vacation tradition in the first two weeks of August for thousands of tourists.
As part of the 90th anniversary of the Tour de la Gaspésie, the Festival Musique du Bout du Monde this year invited people to "come and take a tour" in several municipalities with a total of more than twenty cultural platforms. The Festival Musique du Bout du Monde occupied the territory of the greater Gaspé, with the pre-FMBM from August 3 to 7, 2019 presented by the City of Gaspé, and the FMBM from August 8 to 11 in downtown Gaspé.
Among the highlights of the event are: the sold-out evening on Friday, August 9 with Galaxie, Half Moon Run and Les Louanges, the Concert au lever du soleil at Cap-Bon-Ami with Elisapie (sold out since June), Alain Pérez and his 14 musicians, as well as the collaboration of the Gaspesian and Montreal percussionist collectives - Kilombo and Terrato.
"Street arts and music lead us to travel around the world and confirm our roots with a program that inspires diversity, intergeneration and openness, including Lucibela, Nomad'urbains and Illuzaö, K-Iri, Djely Tapa, among others." - Sophie Bourdages, President Musique du Bout du Monde.
Under the sign of innovation
Thanks to the new green brigade, festival-goers were informed and made aware of the proper management of residual materials and the importance of sorting. This challenge was met thanks to the collaboration between the Régie intermunicipale de traitement des matières résiduelles de la Gaspésie (RITMRG) and Musique du Bout du Monde, a social economy enterprise.
During the year, the organization Musique du Bout du Monde was selected to take part in the innovation cell of the Living Lab in Open Innovation (LLIO). Festival-goers were able to take advantage of the technological innovation of RFID wristbands and purchase passports, shows and drinks online. In addition to simplifying the purchasing process, online ticketing allowed the organization to corroborate the growing reputation of the event.
This result confirms the importance of the festival for the region and for its many partners. The Festival Musique du Bout du Monde is one of the most popular events in the Gaspé. The 2019 edition was the springboard to begin the consolidation and professionalization of human resources in complicity with some 250 volunteers, and more than 100 suppliers, freelancers and partners in the field.
In order to meet the challenge of labour shortages, this vision of professionalization will continue in 2020 and in the years to come.
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Request for interviews:
Tatiana Rivera, Communications Coordinator
