An unexpected wave of COVID-19, chaos at airports and labor shortages ultimately did not prevent tens of thousands of people from gathering each evening in front of the stages of the Festival d'été de Québec ( FEQ) in the last 12 days.

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A few hours before the closing concert of Half Moon Run on the Plains of Abraham, this Sunday, the leaders of the FEQ drew up the usual positive assessment of the event.

However, in this year of the great comeback, after two years of inactivity on the major outdoor stages, this satisfactory retrospective analysis was far from a foregone conclusion.

“It was an obstacle course,” said programmer Louis Bellavance, who broke out in a cold sweat last Monday when the Rage Against The Machine singer was injured during a concert in Chicago.

Goal achieved

On the ground, labor and supply issues have forced the FEQ to redouble its efforts so that festival-goers see nothing but fire once on the sites.

“Despite the challenges and adjustments, I think we can say that our objective has been achieved. We promised festival-goers an FEQ like before the pandemic and we saw them vibrate every night to the sound of the music of their favorite artists,” said general manager Anne Hudon.

As usual, the Summer Festival did not share the attendance figures on the Plains, but we can safely say that the concerts of Rage Against The Machine, Maroon 5, Luke Combs and Marshmello were the most popular.

The second scene

One of the major challenges for the FEQ remains its second set of concerts.

Turned away due to a lack of space at the Parc de la Francophonie, several festival-goers were unable to attend the performances of Three Days Grace, Sum 41 and Milky Chance.

According to Anne Hudon, it is possible that the work in progress at Place George-V will be completed in time for the FEQ to recover this space in 2023.

“It is not confirmed, but it is possible. We will find out in the fall,” she said.

If this is the case, the festival would like to recreate its double stage which was planned for 2020 and which allowed, by installing a stage in Place George-V and one in the Parc de la Francophonie, to present shows alternately in front of a crowd. up to 25,000 people.

“It is our wish, but we will have to validate with the City,” said Ms. Hudon.

Otherwise, Ms. Hudon believes it is possible to make certain improvements to the Parc de la Francophonie in order to bring in a few more festival-goers.