The European Festivals Association (EFA) is an umbrella group for various festivals in Europe and other countries. It supports artistic cooperation among festivals and offers programs for new festival and artistic managers. It represents more than 100 music, dance, theatre and multidisciplinary festivals along with national festival and cultural organizations from about thirty eight, mostly European, countries. The association is officially headquartered in

Ghent, Belgium Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

with an office in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

in the European House for Culture. It is governed by a General Assembly, which meets once a year. The current president is Darko Brlek from

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

. Vice presidents are Jan Briers from

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

and

Michael Herrmann Michael Herrmann (born 4 February 1944, in Wiesbaden) is a German culture and music administrator. He founded the Rheingau Musik Festival in 1987 and is its Artistic Director and Chief Executive Officer. He also runs a concert agency in the Frankf ...

, founder and director of the

Rheingau Musik Festival The (RMF) is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres. Concerts take place at culturally important locations, such as Eberbach Abbey and Schloss Johannisberg, ...

. For 2011, some of the projects include the Ars Nova meeting for new music experts in Belgium, a meeting of the Associations Collective and Affiliate Members, the General Assembly and Conference, the Ateliers for Young Festival Managers in Singapore and Izmir, Turkey, two new books to publish and joint projects with the European House for Culture in Brussels. The EFA is a source of information about more than 100 events, many lesser-known, and is based in the ''Chateau de Coppet'' near

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. The association was established in 1952. Small towns and cities alike sponsor cultural festivals as a way to attract tourism, with about 400 in Europe alone, including the Edinburgh International Festival. The rapid growth of festival events since the 1980s has put pressure on the towns and cities that compete for public funding and competition for better known performers has raised their prices. The association has more than seventy members. The oldest and best known member festival is the Edinburgh International Festival, which began in 1947. Its annual program features classical music, opera, theater and dance. International Festival Wratislavia Cantans is held in the Polish city of Wroclaw focusing on

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

s and

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

s from Bach to

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

and their contemporary

Pawel Mykietyn Pavel (Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian and Macedonian: Павел, Czech, Slovene, Romanian: Pavel, Polish: Paweł, Ukrainian: Павло, Pavlo) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). Pavel ...

References

External links

Official WebsiteOutings & Events AgencyEuropean Festivals Association at Google Cultural Institute
{{Authority control Organizations established in 1952 Trade associations based in Belgium Festival organizations Festival organizations in Europe