Final assessment
In general terms, the balance this 29th edition of FiraTàrrega is fully satisfactory bearing in mind the good reception that the spectacles have had, the professional activity that has taken place over these four days and the absence of significant incidents.As of now, we at La Fira know that some of the spectacles that have been seen by the accredited programmers already have agreements to perform at events both in the national and international fields. This is the sense that La Fira increasingly strengthens its character as a market and the ideal setting for premieres and the presentation of stage productions especially marked this year by h the presence of companies, professionals and institutions del Quebec thanks to an agreement with the government of that Canadian province.
In the line of the most optimistic forecasts, most of sessions of the performances in closed venues have sold out, while those in the street have drawn a huge audience, who were participative and enthusiastic to discover new proposals of all types.
Finally, the professional activities have taken place with a great deal of interest from the participants who have filled the different meetings and events organised.
Spectacles
FiraTàrrega 2009 has been the showcase for 82 national and international companies who have done over 200 performances in Tàrrega.
The Official Programme comprised 63 companies who presented 78 artistic proposals, 17 of which were first performances. The Official Programme has inclined towards Catalan companies who made up over half the programme.
This year, Tàrrega has also hosted the Espais d’Empresa (Company Spaces), in which the two Catalan management companies (23 Arts and Teatre de Ponent) have presented the proposals from their catalogues, with a total of 19 companies.
Professionals
During all these days La Llotja has been the setting for intense commercial activity which, for the professionals, has meant attending either as sellers or as purchasers and establishing contacts that can lead to the signing of contracts. There was a great deal of activity in La Llotja right up to the end of the event.
In this 29th edition there were 829 accredited professionals, from 427 entities and institutions. By origin, the number of Catalan programmers and from other areas of Spain was stable, while there was a significant increase in the number of foreign professionals who chose FiraTàrrega to find out about the developments on the national and international scene. Thus, 433 of the accredited programmers were Catalans, from 179 entities; 202 belonging to 119 entities were from the rest of Spain, and 194 were from abroad, representing 129 entities or institutions.
For the third year running, the Club of the Professionals sponsored by Lleida Qualitat, a place for informal meetings between programmers and companies during La Fira was popular.
Professional activities
- LUNCH MEETING of the ICIC
Around a hundred international professionals made this year’s the best of the four editions of the now traditional Lunch Meeting that, organised by the ICIC, facilitated contact between the around thirty Catalan theatre companies included in the programme of Fira 2009 with the foreign programmers interested in their proposals. The increase by twenty in the number of programmers consolidates the project and the evaluation of the companies that, was very positive as the meeting led directly to the making contracts and agreements.
- MERIDIANS SEMINAR with the SDE of the ICIC and FiraTàrrega
High attendance at the Seminar that closed the Meridians project led by FiraTàrrega and the first cycle of conferences of the Business Development Service (SDE in Catalan) of the ICIC and FiraTàrrega. A good debate was established between programmers, festival directors and the municipal representatives about the themes that concern the current promoters of street arts and circus in Europe. The director of the Area of Business Development announced the intention of continuing this experience of technical meetings and the members of Meridians announced their desire to continue the project, with the incorporation of new entities interested.
- VITRINE QUÉBECOISE
The organisational efforts over the last few years have been rewarded by the response of programmers and companies at the round table, the contacts between professionals over the four days at the Quebec stand and the good reception of the companies by both the professionals and the wider audience. The Meeting about Circus and Street Arts heard about the experience that Québec has in these two aspects of the performing arts.
It should be remembered that the presence of Quebec also involved a visit to Tàrrega by the Quebecois minister of International Relations.
- COFAE MEETINGS
The Fairs grouped under the Coordinator of Performing Arts Fairs Ferias (COFAE) were able to see how a large event like the Saint Patrick’s Festival in Ireland is organised. On this occasion, there was an intense debate about the subject of safety in mass events. At the same time, the people attending were informed about how FiraTàrrega is organised by its manager, Pau Llacuna.
Audience
The streets of Tàrrega have witnessed the generous influx of people to this edition of La Fira that has been busiest this year, on the Friday and Saturday. The opening of La Fira towards other areas, such as the Sant Eloi Park or the Riambau Industrial Estate has favoured the mobility of the public in the town centre and the comfort of spectators and programmers when watching the spectacles.
The large number of spectators who arrived in Tàrrega during these four days is clear from the box office. Until Saturday night, 10,379 tickets had been sold for the paying shows on the Official Programme and 6,161 complimentary tickets had been distributed among the professionals. In total, 16,540 tickets had been distributed by Saturday night.
The estimate is that the numbers reached 11,500 tickets sold and 6,500 complimentary tickets given out. Thus, the total estimated occupation in the paying spectacles in the Official Programme is 18,000, which is 78% of the available capacity (23,038 seats).
The good rate of ticket sales was evident during the first two days of La Fira, during which seven companies sold out. On Friday night, half the closed venue shows were already sold out and on Saturday afternoon the same was true for a good part of the paying shows. By this midday, all tickets had been sold for 70 of the 96 paying sessions programmed at La Fira.
The Company Spaces were also very busy and were a focus of attraction for audiences. According to the data supplied by the companies themselves and updated at 12:00 on Sunday, the Espai Accés Teatre (run by Teatre de Ponent) had filled 65% of the seats. Similarly, the 23 Arts space, managed by the company by the same name (which offered free spectacles) had an audience of 90%.
While ticket sales and the occupation can be considered as a thermometer of the attendance at La Fira, the number of users in the camping area is also a reflection. The arrival of campers over the four days was constant until registering a total of 7,206 users during La Fira.