Important info for festival-goers – Due to heavy rain many of the car-parks will be closed today (Tuesday 21 July). It is advised to take public transport to the festival.
The following post has been written by Jonas Parson. Jonas is a student at the university of Lausanne and has been covering the Paléo festival for this site for the past four years. Here he reports from the Paléo press conference and gives us a flavour of what’s to come over the next six days. As ever, there’s an exciting programme of music, entertainment and great food on the line up. Both Jonas and the Living in Nyon editor will be there every night to report on it all.
Paléo Press conference and what’s new up at the grounds this year – by Jonas Parson
The rather miserable weather was on everyone’s mind at the opening press conference for the 39th edition of Paléo Festival on Monday. Daniel Rossellat, captain of the mighty ship Paléo (the weather allows cheesy water-related metaphors) addressed the difficult conditions of hosting an open-air festival when the weather is bad, thanking the brave and diligent volunteers who have been working in very difficult conditions over the past few weeks to have everything up to scratch for Tuesday at 16:00 when the first festival-goers will walk (or squelch) onto the grounds.
Sporting a pair of flashy green wellies, Rossellat explained that he preferred bad weather during the press conference and good weather during the festival rather than the other way round, saying that you “had to be philosophical about the rain”. But as most people who have come to Paléo have been at at least once before, so the mud and rain is all part of the fun during the festival- as long as we get some sun somewhere along the way!
The Andes at the Village du Monde
Speaking of the sun, the Andes – home to the sun-worshipping Incas – are this year’s destination for the Village du Monde. This festival-in-the-festival is dedicated to a different part of the world each year, bringing a mix of traditional and contemporary culture to l’Asse. Colourful Andean summits have been installed in the village, made of an impressive 47 km of nylon string (that’s the distance between Nyon and Yverdon!). A reference to the massive mountain chain that streaks through South America, and the colourful visual identity of today’s South American bands, these constructions decorate this area where you will be able to listen to a mix of cumbia and electronic music, whilst eating an empanada or some guacamole (we will definitely be writing some more about the amazing food at Paléo later during the week!)
Despite the wet weather, the morale is high for Rossellat and his team, who have been hosting a sold-out festival for the last fifteen years. This year, the rush to the tickets beat new records, with the Wednesday night selling out in 8 minutes! Stromae will be bringing his beats and deep lyrics to make the whole of l’Asse dance, and a crowd of a younger age is expected for the concert of the Belgian phenomenon, who is very popular with young kids.
Paléo is all about collaboration
This year’s edition marks the tenth year of collaboration between Paleo and the HES-SO, and to celebrate they have brought a giant Ferris wheel ready to take festival-goers to new heights, and discover the grounds from the sky. A series of 70’s caravans will also showcase the student’s different projects, as each year.
Another regular collaboration, Monic La Mouche are back for the fourth year with their poetic and rugged structures, their new sculptures incorporating live plants in them.
Paléo supports associations and NGOs who do good work helping people in different ways, and this year they have decided to highlight the efforts of Terre des Hommes in Latin America, as well as the great work of ARFEC, who accompany children with cancer. Both will be on site and you can go and talk to them if their projects interest you.
Roussel Concert cancelled Tuesday
Due to injuries after falling of a stage last week, Gaetan Roussel will be unable to perform on the main stage tomorrow. His concert has been replaced by young national star Bastian Baker, who played last year at Paléo (also under the rain…).
A note on getting to the festival
Transport-wise, the Festival encourages people to use public transport to and from the site. They aim for at least half the festival goers to come by train or bus, reducing the carbon footprint of the festival, and making it all much easier and enjoyable for everyone. So if you plan on coming to Paléo, think of checking the timetables, as the trains and buses run for most of the day and night, making it a hassle-free way of getting there.(It also means you get to drink more beer or wine, if that’s what you like doing!) This is even more important for tomorrow, as the heavy rain protocol has been put in place and many of the car-parks on site will be closed, to make sure cars do not get swamped due to the mud and rain. People coming by car will be redirected towards Nyon, and extra buses have been put in place. So if you plan on coming on Tuesday, use public transport!
