Festival de Beaulieu-sur-Mer

HISTORY OF THE FESTIVAL

2003 FESTIVAL
The Festival de Beaulieu-sur-Mer was founded by John Fox in 2003 to commemorate several important anniversaries in Beaulieu-sur-Mer: the centenaries of the Catholic and Anglican churches in the town; the centenary of the death of the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Queen Victoria’s last Prime Minister and an important benefactor of Beaulieu-sur-Mer; and the bi-centenary of the birth of Berlioz, who had visited Beaulieu-sur-Mer on a number of occasions.  The festival presented six days of chamber music concerts and lectures.  It was an instant success, drawing audiences from all over the neighbouring region and abroad, and unifying the town in an act of joyful celebration.  As a result, the Mayor and Town Hall of Beaulieu-sur-Mer, together with the departmental government of the Alpes-Maritimes, decided to encourage and support the festival as an annual cultural event.  In response, the Association Festival de Beaulieu-sur-Mer was set up, to organize and promote an annual international music festival of high quality in early autumn - a period in the cultural calendar of the Côte d’Azur when there is a dearth of cultural events.

2004 FESTIVAL
The 2004 Festival de Beaulieu-sur-Mer commemorated the centenary of the Entente Cordiale and the sixtieth anniversary of the liberation of the town by Allied Forces through a varied programme of concerts, exhibitions, cultural lectures and military parades.  It was the biggest Entente Cordiale event in south-eastern France, and the only music festival in France and Great Britain devoting its entire artistic programme to that theme. In the course of a week, its imaginative programme presented over 400 French and British professional musicians, many of world stature, in a series of eight concerts; offered 20 lectures on cultural, historical and political subjects; mounted an art exhibition; erected a commemorative plaque to Charles de Gaulle; used a range of high quality venues in the town (churches, theatre, open-air spaces, etc); drew audiences from all over the region, as well as from the UK and Benelux countries; stimulated the local economy, particularly the hotels and restaurants; gave encouragement and initiative to cultural, political, trade and tourist links between Scotland and the Département des Alpes-Maritimes; received visits from the Prefect and Vice-Presidents of the Département and from British and French ambassadors; hosted receptions for French and Scottish politicians and civil servants; made an important contribution to Anglo-French community relations in south-eastern France.

2005 FESTIVAL
The Mayor of Beaulieu-sur-Mer and his Town Council, together with the Association of the Festival de Beaulieu-sur-Mer, decided to maintain a Franco-British axis in the Festival, in order to pay tribute to the historic presence of the British in the town and their important contribution to the development of the Côte d'Azur over the past century. They decided also to pay homage, through ensuing festivals, to the other nationalities that had participated in this development, notably the Russians, Italians, Germans, Scandinavians and Americans. The 2005 Festival adopted a Franco-Russian-British theme, aiming to highlight, and give expression to, the rich cultural links that exist between Russia and her European partners, France and Great Britain. Over a ten-day period, the Festival presented 9 concerts with leading international artists; offered 10 lectures on cultural and historical subjects; mounted 1 art exhibition and 2 photographic exhibitions; erected 3 commemorative plaques in the town (to Stravinsky, Chekhov and the Anglican Presbytery); offered 2 military parades; drew audiences for the concerts from all over the region and from abroad, notably UK and Russia (6 out of 9 concerts were sold-out); received visits from the Prince of Monaco, the Vice-Presidents of the Conseil Général des Alpes-Maritimes and from French, British, Russian and Luxembourg ambassadors and diplomats; enabled Russian, French and British artists to come together in performance before an international audience; offered the French, the British and the Russian communities, as well as members of the many other foreign nationalities in our region, an opportunity to join together in an act of celebration of the heritage of Beaulieu-sur-Mer.