The 2018 edition of the Bons Sons Festival had an economic impact in the order of four million euros and attracted Cem Soldos, Tomar, festivals from 88 counties of Portugal and six other countries, the organization said.
The study of the festival’s public analysis, held in the village of Cem Soldos in the municipality of Tomar, attributed to the event “economic and social benefits” for the region, in the order of “four million euros”, released today the Sport Clube Operários of Cem Soldos, organizer of Bons Sons.
The event, which took place between August 9 and 12, received 38,500 visitors “from different geographies and different ages”, to watch the 52 spectacles and dozens of activities that, over four days, transformed Cem Soldos in the enclosure of the festival.
“There have been visitors from more than 88 national councils and six countries,” said the study, noting that cross-border audiences came from countries such as Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, the United Kingdom and Brazil.
The Central region of the country is “the most expressive”, concentrating 54.8% of the visitors, followed by the regions of the Middle Tejo (30%), Lisbon and Tagus Valley (25.3%) and the North region, with 14, 8%.
According to the study, the 38,500 “welcomed by a broad team of 430 people” included “different generations” and received “people from six to 71 years old”.
The most expressive category includes youngsters between 17 and 26 years old (44%), but more than half of the visitors were composed of the 27-36-year-olds and the 36-year-olds.
Festivals travelled to Cem Soldos mostly in groups of “five or more people,” with numerous “three to four people” groups and “peers”, according to the study.
Around 10% of respondents were “accompanied by children,” and in the venue, both “newcomers” and “festival connoisseurs” were concentrated, with “99% of respondents declaring their intention to return to the festival.”
In economic terms, the dynamics generated by the festival, estimated at around four million euros, had repercussions on “revenues of around 200 thousand euros for the hotel sector in the region.”
The study also points to an average expenditure “of 132.85 euros of expenditure in the local economy by each non-resident visitor in the county.”
According to the study, according to the study, the festival generated around 1000 news items, “which reached approximately a quarter of the Portuguese population, producing an estimated media impact of more than 2.4 million euros.”
At the beginning of November, the organization of the festival, which will take place next August 8-11, announced a reduction in the capacity of the event to 35,000 people, “to provide the public and the village with the best possible experience,” he said the artistic director, Luís Ferreira.
According to Luís Ferreira, the limitation is “with the genetics of the festival that aims to promote a different experience, both for the public and for the village itself”, and refuses to “follow the path that usually follows the creative industry, become a mass event. ”
To fulfil its tenth edition, the festival also anticipates this year the start of the sale of tickets that, every year, are available through several stages, during which the price increases.
The first phase, with the four-day pass at 30 euros, will run until 31 December. The second phase will run from January to March, with the passes at 35 euros. In the third, from April to July, the passes will cost 45 euros and from then on, until the date of the festival, the price will rise to 50 euros.
The tickets for each phase have a limited number of units and “can be exhausted before each phase ends,” warned Luís Ferreira, stressing that whenever “the numbers of tickets of a phase exhaust, the values of the next phase “. The daily ticket will cost, between April and July, 22 euros and, between July and August, 25 euros.
The Bons Sons Festival has been organized since 2006 by the Sport Club Operário de Cem Soldos and has remained biennial until 2014, after which it happens to take place annually.
