Summer Festivals: Towns under high pressure | Divers | RMC Découverte

Every summer, in France, more than 5 million people flock to festivals and other celebrations. With more than 1,600 events on the territory, there’s something to suit every taste and every age. Carhaix, a quiet little town in Finisterre with 7,400 residents, sees its population multiplied by thirty during four days of madness: the Vieilles Charrues/Old Carts Festival! In order to manage this human flood tide, 6,000 volunteers are on duty non-stop. The most critical moment is during the “pogos” in the middle of a concert, which trigger huge movements in the crowd and lots of fainting. Renan, Marie-Hélène and their 16-year-old daughter Mathilde come every year. This summer, Mathilde wants to pass her first night at the extremely lively Old Carts campsite. Her father, Renan, is rather uneasy at the thought of leaving his youngest in the middle of an alcohol-fueled crowd. What state will she be in when he gets her back?

You’ve probably never heard of it, but it’s the biggest electro festival in the world: “Tomorrow Land” or the Land with no Limits! Every summer, in Belgium, some 400 DJs, including mega stars like David Guetta and Marin Garrix do battle with their turntables night and day on sixteen stages, in fairyland settings worthy of a movie! An enormous feat of organization and a well-oiled business with even a starred chef to cater to the richest of the festival-goers. Places are snapped up within hours. Julien, Manu and Clément are some of the 360,000 revelers who managed to buy tickets. They spent up to €1,500 to party over three hopefully unforgettable days. On the program are the 3 Ds: dance, dalliance and delirium!

At Bunol, in Spain, it’s not a musical celebration, but 22,000 revelers get over-excited at the thought of hurling themselves into a giant gazpacho: the “Tomatina”. A gigantic tomato fight that takes over the whole town. Revelers will throw 150 tonnes of over-ripe tomatoes, delivered by a convoy of six trucks, in each other’s faces. The “Confrontations’ between the participants, who come from all five continents, only last an hour, but the celebration goes on for three days. Something that makes the mayor and local tradesmen very happy, but not certain of the residents, who denounce the waste of food and are fed up with seeing the walls of their buildings redecorated every year with tomato sauce.