Press release
The Seviqc 2024 festival took place from August 9 to 23, 2024. At 10 locations in 4 Slovenian municipalities, we prepared 21 events: 10 concerts, 10 upbeats (audience chats with artists) and 1 performance for children and families. As part of the Seviqc Camp project, 3 ensembles offered access to visitors during their rehearsals for concerts. The share of Slovenian artists was 28.6%, and 6 concerts were in collaboration between Slovenian and international artists.
We note the strong response of Celje City, both regarding the stakeholders of the performance and the audience. Compared to the previous year, we recorded a noticeable increase both in terms of the number of visitors to the entire festival and visits after the event, as well as the share of local visitors (a local visitor is defined by permanent residence in the municipality of the concert), especially in Celje.
Programme
In 2024, the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts was also the honorary sponsor of the Seviqc festival. This year, too, the Seviqc festival was the holder of the prestigious EFFE (Europe for festivals, festivals for Europe) label, awarded by the EFA (European Festivals Association). The Seviqc festival was opened on Friday, August 9, 2024, by the Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Celje, Saša Kundih. The programme consists of 21 events:
9/8/2024, Celje Music School, chat, Alcaide / Krajnc
9/8/2024, Cathedral Church of St. Danijela Celje, concert, Alcaide / Krajnc
11.8.2024, Celje Music School, performance, OperArija
13/08/2024, Cafe Miško Knjižko Celje, chat, Ensemble Bastion
13.8.2024, Old County of Celje, concert, Ensemble Bastion
8/14/2024, Snežnik Castle, chat, Laterna Magica
8/14/2024, Snežnik Castle, concert, Laterna Magica
16.8.2024, Bogenšperk Castle, chat, Eccher / Dolinšek
16.8.2024, Bogenšperk Castle, concert, Eccher / Dolinšek
8/17/2024, City Cafe Celje, chat, Baroque Arabesque
17.8.2024, Narodni dom Celje, concert, Baroque Arabesque
19.8.2024, Cafe Miško Knjižko Celje, chat, Richard Boothby
19.8.2024, Old County of Celje, concert, Richard Boothby
20.8.2024, Music School, Narodni dom, Seviqc Camp: Alcaide / Krajnc, The Legacy of Bach, Capilla del Sol
8/20/2024, KKC Dolenjske Toplice, chat, Pilar Almalé
20.8.2024, Devil’s Tower in Soteska, concert, Pilar Almalé
21/08/2024, Cafe Miško Knjižko Celje, chat, The Legacy of Bach
21.8.2024, Old County of Celje, concert, The Legacy of Bach
22/08/2024, City Cafe Celje, chat, Capilla del Sol
22.8.2024, Narodni dom Celje, concert, Capilla del Sol
23.8.2024, Celje Music School, chat, Alcaide / Krajnc
23.8.2024, Cathedral Church of St. Danijela Celje, concert, Alcaide / Krajnc
Radio Slovenija recorded all 10 concerts, and broadcast 2 directly on their third programme, Program Ars.
The programme was created by 35 artists from Argentina (4 / 11.4%), Austria (4 / 11.4%), Belgium (4 / 11.4%), Croatia (1 / 2.9%), Cuba (1 / 2.9%), France (3 / 8.6%), Germany (1 / 2.9%), Great Britain (1 / 2.9%), Italy (2 / 5.7%), Mexico (1 / 2.9%), the Netherlands (1 / 2.9%), Slovenia (10 / 28.6%), and Spain (2 / 5.7%). 13 (37.1%) artists were males and 22 (62.9%) females. More about the programme and artists can be found at https://www.seviqc.si/events.html.
Slovenian artists collaborated with international artists at 6 concerts:
9.8.2024 Ana Marija Krajnc / Adriana Alcaide (ES),
13.8.2024 Maruša Brezavšček / Ensemble Bastion (CH),
16.8.2024 Eva Dolinšek / Giuliano Eccher (IT),
21.8.2024 Ana Julija Mlejnik Železnik / The Legacy of Bach (BE),
22.8.2024 Gregor Fele, Boris Šinigoj / Capilla del Sol (AR),
23.8.2024 Ana Marija Krajnc / Adriana Alcaide (ES).
Since the Ministry of Culture did not identify the development-oriented project Seviqc Camp as co-financing, we implemented it on a limited scale. With three ensembles (Alcaide / Krajnc, The Legacy of Bach, Capilla del Sol), which needed several days of rehearsals with Slovenian artists, we coordinated three consecutive half-hour sessions, so that the visitors could visit all three workshops.
A visit
The relocation of the residence of the Seviqc festival to Celje is clearly encouraging, both in terms of relations in a wide range of organizational connections within the performance and in the response of the audience. Above all, at the concerts in Celje, we note a strong response from visitors coming from Celje. Thus, the share of local visitors in the entire festival programme increased significantly, especially at the concerts in Celje. The number of visitors was 93.5% more than in 2023 (869 vs 449), which is not only due to a greater number of events, but also a 10.59% higher average visit to the event (41.38 vs 37.42), while events also include upbeats, where attendance is traditionally lower than at concerts, or in other words, 15.0% of concertgoers attended 2024 upbeats. The average attendance at the upbeats was 10.8 visitors, the average attendance at the concert was 72.1 visitors.
There were 34.1% of local visitors at the entire festival (in 2023: 18.3%), and 39.5% at the concerts in Celje (2023: 23.5% of visitors from Brežice). The proportion of visitors from abroad also increased. 52 visitors (6.0%, in 2023: 12 / 2.7%) came from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Serbia, Spain, Turkey, and the United States of America. 54 visitors came as part of 20 family packages (first ticket at normal price, subsequent tickets free). At least 26 visitors (3.0%, recorded by observation) were under the age of 18.
All upbeats and a performance for children and families, as well as two concerts, were free admission. When selling tickets for eight concerts, we followed the established model: we started selling them in January 2024 with a ticket price of EUR 5, which went up by EUR 1 weekly, so that during the festival it was EUR 35. At the same time, we offered a special price for organized groups, newspaper editorial offices, partners' subscribers, visitors to the cafes in Celje, where our events were held, and Pizzerije in špageterija Koper, which provided food for our artists.
Partners
Zavod Celeia Celje, our central strategic partner together with the Municipality of Celje, announced our events in the catalogue Summer in Celje, the events were announced on the website https://www.cele.si/, the advertising campaign included 39 citylights and 12 billboards. The events were photographed by Robi Valenti and Simona Zorc Ramovš. The photos are publicly available and can be found at https://arsramovs.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/Skupno/EmP2odW-dwlFsF1LN9NFse4BCAGl2yk7ypfbmBVZMQg8Ng?e=5SDfpP.
The value of the Seviqc 2024 festival is EUR 141,421.43. We implemented it in cooperation with:
Anni računalniška oprema d.o.o. (Trzin, SI), Atribut agencija za spletne storitve d.o.o. (Ljubljana, SI), Avto Detr avtoservis in trgovina, d.o.o. (Mengeš, SI), Benton d.o.o. (Mengeš, SI), Celjske lekarne javni lekarniški zavod (Celje, SI), Cvetličarna Helena Novak s.p. (Celje, SI), Družina družba za založniško, časopisno in informacijsko dejavnost, Ljubljana, d.o.o. (Ljubljana, SI), Edition Walhall - Verlag Franz Biersack (Magdeburg, DE), Embajada de España en Eslovenia (Ljubljana, SI), European Festivals Association (Brussels, BE) / EFFE label 2024-2025, Europlakat d.o.o., podjetje za ekonomsko propagando in reklamo, Ljubljana (Ljubljana, SI), Eurotas hoteli, gostinstvo in storitve, d.o.o. (Celje, SI), Glasbena šola Celje (Celje, SI), Glasbena šola Radovljica (Radovljica, SI), Gregor Koprivc s.p. (Celje, SI), Javni zavod Bogenšperk (Šmartno pri Litiji, SI), Kabi, trgovina in storitve, d.o.o. (Ljubljana, SI), Krka, d. d., Novo mesto (Novo mesto, SI), Kulturno prireditveni center Narodni dom Maribor (Maribor, SI), Logar turistična kmetija (Grahovo pri Cerknici, SI), Mestna občina Celje (Celje, SI), Moj gušt, gostinstvo, d.o.o. (Celje, SI), Narodni muzej Slovenije (Ljubljana, SI), Neja, proizvodnja in storitve, d.o.o. (Celje, SI), Nomago, storitve mobilnosti in potovanj, d.o.o. (Ljubljana, SI), Občina Dolenjske Toplice (Dolenjske Toplice, SI), Občina Loška dolina (Stari log pri Ložu, SI), Orel Celje, turizem in oblikovanje, d.o.o. (Celje, SI), Osrednja knjižnica Celje (Celje, SI), Pokrajinski muzej Celje (Celje, SI), Radiotelevizija Slovenija javni zavod, Ljubljana (Ljubljana, SI) / Radio Slovenija, Réseau Européen de Musique Ancienne (Versailles, FR), Simbio, družba za ravnanje z odpadki d.o.o. (Celje, SI), Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti (Ljubljana, SI), Smar-team org., mednarodna trgovina, d.o.o. (Log pri Brezovici, SI), Sociedad Mercantil Estatal de Acción Cultural S.A. (Madrid, ES), Sova družba za ekonomske, organizacijske in knjigovodske storitve, d.o.o. (Ljubljana, SI), Univerza v Ljubljani Akademija za glasbo (Ljubljana, SI), Vlaamse Regering (Brussels, BE), Zavod za kulturne prireditve in turizem Celeia Celje (Celje, SI), Združenje zgodovinskih mest Slovenije, gospodarsko interesno združenje (Škofja Loka, SI), Zveza glasbene mladine Slovenije (Ljubljana, SI), Župnija Celje - Sv. Danijel (Celje, SI).
This document is not yet an implementation report, it only lists some basic data, more statistical data will be available at https://www.seviqc.si/report.html.
Klemen Ramovš