The Tale of Two Citiesand two festivals:

Avignon & DubrovnikDr Dragan KlaicLeiden University

European Festival Research Project

Le Mans research workshop

18 November 2006

GenesisAvignon 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

EvolutionAvignon 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 & continuityAvignon 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 comparedAvignon Dubrovnik

• 120.000 inhabitants• university, continuous

theater productions• 3 weeks in July• 30 productions• 130.000 ticket sold• 800+ shows in OFF• comb. subsidy € 4mln• econ impact € 35 mln+(?)• festival IS the primary

tourist magnet

• 40.000 inhabitants

• nascent university, contin. theater production

• 45 days July-Aug

• 2 new productions, 2 old

• 24.000 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 comparisonsneeded in order to check the key sustainability

factorsQuality festivals in historic places, high tourist exposure:• Salzburg• Aix en Provence• Spoletto • Rimini • Maggio Fiorentino• Granada• Athens • Epidaurus

(c) D. Klaic 2006