For its 20th anniversary, Sakifo brought together 37,000 spectators according to the latest figures from the organization. No new record like last year when the barrier of 40,000 festival-goers was crossed. This Sunday evening, 15,000 people are expected for the concert, notably by the group I AM.
A little more than 9,000 spectators Friday evening, 11,000 Saturday and at least 16,000 people this Sunday evening, according to the organization’s latest accounts. Jérôme Galabert thus announces a total of nearly 37,000 festival-goers for this 20th edition of Sakifo.
This is less than last year when the symbolic bar of 40,000 spectators was exceeded. “It was difficult after an exceptional year like 2023 to achieve the same figures,” defends the boss of the event. “ Before we had 30,000 spectators and we were happy. So, this year, it’s quite a good landing. We live it well », assures Jérôme Galabert.
According to the person concerned, a balance should thus be achieved. “ There is no disaster. We should be able to cover the costs. Either we will be in balance, or we will be just below or just above. It won’t be what we experienced in 2022. And fortunately. This year, that does not put the festival in danger “.
That’s it for the numbers. Otherwise, Jérôme Galabert rather displays his satisfaction. “ It’s a nice edition I think. I saw happy people. I think it’s a great birthday “, he summarizes. The organization does not hide having encountered difficulties in preparing for the event. “ It wasn’t an easy edition in the back office, for example we had Natoxie (the Martinican DJ, editor’s note) who couldn’t come because of a broken down plane. »
For this symbolic 20th anniversary, there are no fireworks a priori, unlike the 10th anniversary. And if there are major headliners, like the Marseille rap group I AM, this Sunday evening, Ibrahim Maalouf, Jain or even Grand Corps Malade, the programming does not match, for example, that of the last year. “ It’s certain that last year, the field was undoubtedly stronger. But the stars were far awaydefends Jérôme Galabert. What we wanted for this 20th anniversary was to have little nuggets. We didn’t want to do like the 10th anniversary where there was a brilliant program with Manu Chao, an artist who single-handedly monopolized the notion of the anniversary. And that’s not what I think because we’re celebrating our birthday “.
