© Domingos Oliveira / Archivbild
A festival with 2,500 attendees has received the go ahead to kick off in a conservation area and cultural heritage site.
Minister for the Environment Carole Dieschbourg had previously said there were no sufficient criteria to forbid the festival, giving it the green light on 10 July. Preparations for the festival this weekend are well underway, but Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Culture Sam Tanson underlined in an RTL interview that absolutely no damage to the site will be tolerated.
Tanson admitted she would have preferred the organisers to involve the ministries earlier in the process; however, she still welcomed the idea of the festival. The government laid out a number of conditions for organisers in order to ensure that no damage was caused to the conservation area. One of the conditions revolves around the music system that will be used during the festival. Tanson said it would be a comparatively smaller system as this would limit potential damage to the building. There are also conditions set for entry to the castle - only small groups can enter to view the exhibition within, and the ministers are relying on the organisers to enforce the set conditions.
To help guarantee this, both ministries will be sending guards to the festival that monitor behaviour. Carole Dieschbourg said there were also strict environmental conditions due to the fact the sheer number of visitors will disturb the local flora and fauna.
Organisers must ensure there are sufficient bins on site and that no chemical products are allowed to permeate the ground. The organisers will be held responsible for any damage. This should ensure that as little damage as possible is caused to the surrounding conservation area. Tanson pointed out there had been a number of people on site to take photos already, and a meeting had been held with all involved to ensure the festival plans would not affect the area. The ministries will also send a team to inspect the site once the festival has ended.
Recently there have been more and more demands to hold festivals and other private events in Luxembourg. Dieschbourg underlined that in order to allow such events, organisers must be cognisant of environmental protection regulations.
Tanson said it was crucial for the government and organisers to reach an agreement, which now seems to be the case for the Birtrange festival.
The festival kicks off on 2 August and lasts until 4 August.
