Stopover in Sète 2024: fewer visitors but more visitors on tall ships

300 000 visiteurs ont participé à l’édition 2024 d’Escale à Sète Midi Libre – DORIAN CAYUELA

According to initial estimates, 300,000 visitors participated in the 2024 edition of Escale à Sète, from March 27 to April 1.

The first numbers are in. Awaiting consolidated data, the Escale à Sète association announces overall attendance close to 300,000 visitors for the 2024 edition of the maritime traditions festival, which took place on the ;Singular island from March 27 to April 1.

The power of attraction of Belem

Not spared by the weather, which led to the cancellation of the opening day and some late evenings, the event did less well than in 2022, a record year with its’ nbsp;438,000 visitors. But better than in 2018, when 280,000 people made the trip (in the middle of the Covid pandemic, the 2020 edition was canceled). For Wolfgang Idiri, the director of the festival, "a free and popular event, which offers thousands of workshops with the support of Unesco, and which brings together 300’ nbsp;000 people despite the weather conditions, that suits us!".

READ ALSO – "Escale à Sète should not become a franchise, but rather a label"

Fewer visitors, but more passage on the tall ships, since the sale of tickets to board the guest boats jumped by 10% compared to the last edition. "This year, we were able to rely on a large number of spa guests from the Balaruc areas, but above all on the impressive power of attraction of the Belem< /em>". The three-masted ship, which left Sète to collect the Paris 2024 Olympic flame in Greece, was undoubtedly one of the attractions of the 2024 edition.