Busker Festival at risk 69,000 come to Bern - but only 23,000 pay
An estimated 69,000 culture enthusiasts visited the 21st edition of the Busker Festival in Bern over three days. But only one in three voluntarily paid an entrance fee.
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- 144 people put on 300 shows: Bern's Busker Festival ran from August 8 to 10.
- Of the 69,000 visitors, only 23,000 paid the minimum fee of 20 francs.
- This threatens the future of the actually popular festival.
An estimated 69,000 culture enthusiasts attended the 21st edition of the Busker Festival in Bern over three days. But only one in three voluntarily paid an entrance fee.
As the organizers announced today, 18,000 people made the pilgrimage to Bern's old town on Thursday, 25,000 on Friday and 26,000 on Saturday. They were treated to 144 artists from 41 groups and 25 nations.
There were 300 individual shows with concerts, street performances, theater, dance, puppet theater, acrobatics and art installations. There were no incidents worth mentioning.
Continued existence of the festival at risk
However, the fact that only around 23,000 visitors were prepared to pay the voluntary minimum amount of CHF 20 for a festival booklet or a program is disappointing and difficult to understand.
This jeopardizes the continued existence of the festival. With 250 volunteers and a 40-strong OC, Buskers requires an enormous effort and has to finance half of it through the sale of ribbons. It is still too early to talk about the consequences. But something has to change.
Otherwise, the non-profit and low-budget event could not survive. This fact is "downright absurd" in view of the festival's great popularity.
