Tuesday, June 5 took place as every year the press conference of Solidays 2018 in the Pierre-Charles Krieg room of the Île-de-France Regional Council. The opportunity for Solidarité Sida to take stock of 20 years of struggle and to present the program of this long-awaited anniversary.
An essential moment ahead of the festivities that promise to be pleasing again this year, Solidays had given an appointment to journalists to present them the leading artists of this twentieth edition. But it is also and above all a crucial moment to take stock of the evolution of the festival.
Find our articles on the programming of Solidays 2018
There were beautiful people present at this press conference. A pleasure to meet as every year the founders and managers of Solidays, surrounded by their guests and artists who will perform from June 22 to 24 at Longchamp racecourse.
The representatives of Solidays 2018
Sébastien Folin is the host of this meeting.
Accustomed to this exercise, he first gave the floor to Valérie Pécresse, president of the regional council. She says the project of an AIDS-free region remains one of her main objectives. Many things have been put in place, especially among young people, whose awareness is essential. Indeed, many HIV-positive people are unaware of this. There are now buses to carry out screening tests for high schools and universities.
"Soliday is a festival with extra soul."
It is then the turn of Antoine de Caunes, honorary president of Solidarité Sida to express his long experience in this association which is constantly renewed. "We are carried by this energy," he says, referring to the unwavering motivation of the volunteers.
The heart of Solidays is the village of associations
Every year, we are comforted, galvanized, reconciled with our contemporaries thanks to the commitment we see there!
We also talk about the African front which is represented every year on the festival and which works in a wonderful way in very difficult conditions, sometimes dangerous and with very little means.
The Social Club – new meeting point of Solidays
Antoine de Caunes took the opportunity to announce the program of the forum, renamed the Social Club.
10 inspiring speakers again this year:
– Cédric Herrou – Farmer and activist (with Marie-France Cohen)
– Esther Duflo – Economist and advisor to Barak Obama
– Thierry Marx – Chef of the Mandarin Oriental
– Michaël Jeremiasz – Four-time Paralympic wheelchair tennis
medalist – Delphine Horvilleur – feminist and rabin
woman – Stephanie Seydoux – French anbassor in charge of global
health issues – Philippe Duneton – Deputy Executive Director of UNITAID
– Christophe Paquet – Head of Health and Social Protection Division at AFD
– Raphaël Glucksmann – Human rights
activist essayist – Rania Mustafa Ali – Syrian refugee who filmed her journey from Kobane to Austria.
As well as two photo-reportage exhibitions by Anne A-R and Laurence Geai.
Sublime transition to introduce Anne A-R, present to talk about her latest project that took her to the south of Sudan where she was able to meet exiles and refugees. Uganda is a land of refuge that has very few means and tries somehow to save these people. Anne A-R was confronted with the reality of the camps.Where she used to take these refugees standing up to restore their dignity, she found herself facing human beings sitting in tears demanding the right to suffering. 300,000 dead in 4 years, a massacre, an ethnic cleansing ignored by the world. The NEVER MORE is actually an ENCORE!
Solidays is a great sounding board
The festival allows you to take a look and reflect on the one you give back. It leads us to question ourselves about the other and otherness… altruism.
The founder of Solidays and Mamie Solidays
Sébastien Folin takes the floor to emphasize that there are a number of important rituals at Solidays and that they will still be there this year.
Luc Barruet is then invited to take stock of the last 20 years. "We did a good job." Indeed, the observation is encouraging : the festival values initiatives and creates vocations thanks to the encounters it brings. It is the festival of openness, of emotions. It is an accessible festival that strives not to increase the price of admission. It is a festival where volunteers are enthusiastic and command respect. It is also a festival to which artists are loyal and where they like to return, simply to spend time without necessarily going on stage.
20 years later, Solidays gives meaning to celebration and colors to solidarity
Luc Barruet regrets that TV is not sufficiently interested in the festival; According to him, there is a cynicism of the media. "We are bisounours, but the mission is so beautiful that we fully assume it." He tells us some anecdotes with the volunteers. Touching stories that show how strong the commitment is.
It is then the turn of Mamie Solidays to speak. She is Janet Maury. She is a regular at the Social Club. She has already spent 40 years of her life caring for troubled youth. As a true free electron, it goes where we learn. One day she wanted to follow Luc Barruet and since then, has never missed an edition of Solidays. A volunteer at heart, she has always fought against social injustices ; That's what touches her the most.
"You have to go for it, life goes by too fast! We always say we're never ready, but that's not true. You have to get started because then it's too late. " This is the message she hammers home to the people around her to encourage them to get involved in causes. The problem in raising awareness among young people today, and has always been, to attract them. For this, we need artists, music, to create a space that looks like them, for them.
Solidays is a working ground, a meeting point
She notes that alcohol is the accomplice of AIDS. She also talks about her meeting with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence who know how to talk to people and especially to young people: they know how to bring them together to better commune around strong messages.
Valérie Pécresse takes the floor again to announce that we will not escape this year the #metoo and that the movement will be present on the festival through an association that fights against violence against women and against cyber sexism.
The artists of this 2018 edition
They were present at the conference.
Jain who returns for the 3rd time and who will take the opportunity to make her first Parisian date where she will present the songs of her new album. Even if the competition between festivals is tough, she wanted Solidays to be in her schedule because it's more than a festival, it's a commitment to a cause and it's beautiful!
Juliette Armanet will be on stage at Solidays for the first time. Very honored by the invitation, she finds that the festival is the best way to combine business with pleasure around a humanist cause. Even if today empathy is more reduced, she knows that as an artist, it is the ideal place to share around a common cause, a unique and very important moment, an adventure that brings together all generations.
Arnaud Rebotini, composer of the soundtrack of 120 beats per minute, was also present. He has already had the opportunity to frequent the place, including the Green Room and appreciates the festival for its Rock'n Roll atmosphere and boundless energy.
Clara Luciani, is happy and delighted to have also been invited. She thanks the trust that the festival puts in the artists to carry high the colors of Solidays.
Shaka Ponk as Fra and Bobee O.D., say: the first time they were invited to a festival was at Solidays. They were scared to death and had incredible pressure. They wondered if the cause of the festival required them to be more serious and wiser. They quickly realized that it wasn't. Since then, they have been attending volunteer evenings.
You are really tiny as an artist in front of the work of volunteers. They give meaning to our work.
Finally, MC Solar was present and will always be present, even if it is not part of the programming. He also often hangs out on the side of the volunteer village because that's where we see the importance of the human. There is everything here: meaning and pleasure. And then the festival is inspiring; It allows him to meet his acolytes, his friends and to discover new artists.
Another colorful character, Martin Dust, aka Sister Rose of the Liver, prominent member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence was present to announce that Masses will be celebrated every day. Don't forget to come and commune with the Sisters!
What's new in Solidays 2018
This year, there will be a photo exhibition dedicated to volunteers that shows them during an apocalyptic festival montage under the mud, just after the Download. A year that was difficult but that shows their courage and tenacity.
A bus will take the young deputies of the National Assembly who will crisscross Solidays and meet the actors and festival-goers.
Last but not least, 20 personalities have decided to become volunteers and will occupy unlikely positions during the festival. The list of daring will soon be announced and you may be able to meet one of them at the refreshment bar or at the sale of t-shirt? Who knows!
All you have to do is dive into the programming to find out who you will hear to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Solidays.
And watch out for the post-festival Soly Blues;)
Program of 20 years of Solidays
