The HADRA TRANCE FESTIVAL won't be hold in the absence of a site and of the needed authorizations

HADRA is a non-profit organisation which has existed since 2001 and aims at developing and promoting electronic music and its artistic practices: Djing, Vjing, Deco and Computer-aided music compositing). Since 2005, the association has organized three editions of the HADRA TRANCE FESTIVAL (psytrance music and lifestyle festival) that brought together artists, musicians, decorators and an audience from all around the world.
Unfortunately, in the absence of a festival site and of the needed authorizations, the festival won't be hold this year.
In 2005 and 2006, the festival took place in Chorges (Hautes-Alpes – French Alps) where 1250 people got together for the 1st edition and 2250 for the 2nd one.
The 3rd one had gathered nearly 4000 people together for 2 days and 3 nights in Pontcharra. Surveys realized onsite during the festival showed that a substantial part of the audience came from all around the world to the festival: 6.5 % of them came from Europe and 2.9 % from the rest of the world.
The Hadra Trance Festival is built up mainly by volunteers (only 2 employees) and it appears in this way as a reward for their hard work all along the year. This festival has become the first psytrance event in France with an operating budget of 210000 € (exclusive of taxes and 85% self-financed)

The good unwinding and the quality of last year's festival gave to the Hadra Association a real recognition for its professionalism in organizing large-scale events, with the great care of the on-going legislation, the environment, the populations and the security of the festival-goers.
The HADRA TRANCE FESTIVAL has become more and more successful over the years, mainly thanks to its international artistic quality programming with musicians, set designers, video directors coming from Mexico, Portugal, Morocco, Italy, Brazil, Japan, etc.

Moreover, Hadra is supported by the authorities: the City of Grenoble and the council of Isere department have, in this way, signed an agreement with Hadra, the Regional council of Rhône-Alpes has supported the association mainly in helping financially the festival and finally the DDJS (Direction of Youth and Sports) certified the association as an organization working towards developing Youth and Popular Education.
From this perspective, it is really unfortunate that Hadra always has to start over from scratch while it already proved its skills and its solvency. Despite the fact that Hadra's Team has been working for 8 years to develop Electro music and free it from the negative image which sticks it to the hide from the beginning, people still lump together Hadra's events and free-parties or tecknivals and in this way relay the bad impression usually promoted by the media.

After the Hadra's Team had to cancel the festival in 2007 due to the revocation of the local authorities facing the lobbying of the opposition, this year's festival has to be cancelled too !
It seems to us that our society has got deeply bogged down into an impenetrable mentality which is not the best able to embrace new cultures.
It's necessary not to forget that this Electro culture has become a part of the European cultural scene. Indeed, Switzerland, Germany, Portugal, UK, etc. teem with Electro Music Festivals all along the year and therefore give the opportunity to thousands of musicians, artistes and festival-goers to express themselves.

There is a real demand from the audience and many are those who have to cross the French border to fully live out their passion for this culture, whereas we have every tools to develop this thriving culture in the right way.
That's why Hadra doesn't give up the fight, won't lose hope and will keep working to get together for the HADRA TRANCE FESTIVAL 4 !

Moreover, if you want to support this cause, you can find attached to this mail a template of letter to send to the French Minister of the Interior, Mr Hortefeux and to the French Minister of Culture and of the Communication, Mr Mitterrand.
Don't hesitate to add your own comments and feelings, to modify this template and to sign it to make this mail more personal.

Press Contact : Benoît ALLIROL
Tél. : +33(0)4 38 49 29 44 / +33(0)6 70 41 77 69
Email : benoit@hadra.net
Web : www.hadra.net

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