Hellfest
Genre	Heavy metal and its subgenres, hardcore punk, rock, hard rock
Dates	Third weekend in June
Location(s)	Clisson, Loire-Atlantique, France
Years active	2006-present
Founded by	Benjamin Barbaud and Yoann Le Neve
Capacity	152,000 festival goers over 3 days in 2014
Website	hellfest.fr

The Hellfest, also called Hellfest Summer Open Air, is a music festival french specialized in extreme music, held annually in June in Clisson in Loire-Atlantique. Its high attendance is the among the most important French music festivals. It is also one of the biggest festivals of metal in Europe and the first in France.

It originated in another music festival, the Furyfest, held from 2002 to 2005 in different places of the Loire Valley; Hellfest takes later in 2006 and knows, in a few years, a continuous increase of its attendance from $ 22,000 for the first edition of 152,000 paying visitors in 2015.

Its programming is primarily focused on hard rock and metal to the two main stages, while each of the four festival stages are dedicated to a particular style as black metal, the death metal, the hardcore punk, the doom metal or metal stoner, thus ensuring the presence of groups such as Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, ZZ Top, Motörhead and KISS, as well as that of Slayer, Megadeth, Sepultura, Cannibal Corpse or Anthrax.

History

Launches and starts

A first association was founded in 2000 in Clisson to as "CLS CREW" in order to organize concerts of hardcore and punk in the region of Nantes, which allows to program groups like Arkangel or Poison the Well. The success of these concerts will launch the first festivalJune 2002. It takes the name of Furyfest and brings together 400 people to Agnostic Front, in Clisson, in a hall of the sports complex of Val-de-Moine 3.

The festival was revived in subsequent years. It attracts 7,000 people to Sick of It All and Youth of Today (en) in 2003. The format changes to two days and room availability at Clisson fault, Hall of Trocardière (Rezé) hosts the second edition. The operation of the festival is also seen: the "MAN.IN.FEST 'association is created to take charge of the organization of the latter 3, the 2003 edition has reached € 30,000 profit, Benjamin Barbaud a founder, becomes an employee of the structure 4. In 2004 3, the festival moved to Le Mans and stands in the halls of the 24 Hours circuit 5 where it attracts 21,000 spectators to Slipknot and Soulfly.

After a deficit in 2004, the 2005 inheriting liabilities, the organizing team decided to bequeath the rights to other festival promoters and to be limited to the organization. This time 30,000 entries are recorded at Le Mans in three days to attend concerts on three stages of Slayer, Motörhead, or Anthrax, but financial problems worsen 3, with the disappearance of party developers with € 600,000 Recipe

Creation and development

A new festival project is revived by two former employees of the Fury Fest, Benjamin Barbaud and Yoann Le Neve. They propose to Clisson elected to create a "small festival in the spirit of the Old Plough" but without mentioning hard rock, for fear of not being followed by the municipality 6. The event takes the name of Hellfest, and stands for the first time in the open, welcoming 22,000 people in three daysJune 2006, Came to attend concerts Motörhead, Apocalyptica or Dead Kennedys 3. This first edition is a deficit of € 200,000, which does not prevent the holding of a new edition next year 6. In the space of three years, the new festival climbed to the highest place festivals regional and national. If the 2007 edition must make savings as a result of the first edition of deficit and undergo harsh weather conditions, 40,000 entries are recorded, with a program including Slayer or Megadeth. The following year the structure is reinforced with the hiring of four standing, and the choice of a new site can take attendance at 45,000 people for the 2008 edition

3. At the same time relations with local communities improve, allowing the festival to sign multi-year partnership agreements with them, while to date during the festival every year was dependent on a City Council vote 7. The 60 000 entries are reached during the 2009 event, benefiting from the presence of Marilyn Manson as headliner. The reputation of the festival settled permanently the following year with KISS, Deftones and Alice Cooper allowing to bring the attendance to 70,000 visitors 3.

The first major criticism n 1 arrive in 2010. Many conservative politicians take targeted, Christine Boutin speaks of "the culture of death" and Philippe de Villiers of Satanism 4. These attacks are echoed in subsequent years by groups Catholic radicals such as the National Confederation of Catholic Family Associations 5 or Civitas 9, 10, and / or royalists / far-right as the Circle of Three Provinces 11. The most controversial groups like Taake 12, Anal Cunt or Satanic Warmaster 13 are deprogrammed in subsequent editions. Nevertheless, the festival can count on political support as Minister of Culture Frédéric Mitterrand 4 or MP PS Patrick Roy 5.

Awareness at European level

A tribute is paid to the member Patrick Roy in 2011, shortly before death, in the form of a final fireworks 14; he had played on stage with the band Mass Hysteria during the previous edition 15. The same year, with Rob Zombie, Scorpions and Ozzy Osbourne as headliners, 75,000 people gather for the last time on the Val-de-Moine site before joining the Champ-Louet next year 16 .

This change of site, due to the construction of a high school on the space dedicated to the festival leads its growth during the 2012 edition, with superior reception area from 14 to 21 hectares: the gauge thus experiencing a significant increase from 25 000 to 35 000 spectators per day; the number of scenes pass it at the same time from four to six 17. The symbolic 100,000 entries was reached that year, with Mötley Crüe, Lynyrd Skynyrd, or Guns N 'Roses as headliners 18.

Several major groups of the 2013 edition, such as ZZ Top and KISS, tend to make the biggest public festival 19, 20, while at the same time the criticisms made ​​by political or religious groups are more discreet 19. The structure, however, must undergo the same year competition Sonisphere Festival whose organization is transferred from August to June, resulting in higher fees artists 21. The edition 2014 groups program like Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, or Deep Purple, while the gauge stabilizes around 150,000 entries in three days 3.

Operation

Organization and Budget

The host association employs ten people in the year [22], which are added 2000 volunteers during the festival [21]. Its headquarters is located at Cugand in Vendée, near Clisson, and it is directed since its creation by Benjamin Barbaud [23]. The festival works in 2013, with an annual budget of nearly eight million, with the balance that year. Revenue consists of 66% of ticketing, to 16% bars, the rest coming from commercial revenue or sponsorship. Government grants are involved in up to 1% of it, paid by the region Pays de la Loire, the department of Loire-Atlantique, or municipality of Clisson; the State, he pays nothing [21]. The expenses will primarily in the artistic envelope with a budget of 4.5 million euros for the 2014 edition, up to one million euros compared to that of 2013, the highest of festivals French [24]. The rest of the budget, about 2/3 of expenses from previous years positions, ranging in technique, equipment, and the organization in general [25]. According to Ben Barbaud, the budget of the festival in 2016 was double that of Eurockéennes [26]: €16M.

Scenes and Programming

Main article: Programming the Hellfest. Since the change of site, in 2012, the festival activities are structured around six scenes each dedicated to a different style of music. They work by alternating three scenes hosting a concert at the same time, while the scales are organized on the remaining scenes 27.

The duo major scenes, "Mainstages" 1 and 2, is located outdoors; the first host of the most oriented towards the general public and / or more oriented groups heavy metal like Iron Maiden, KISS and Guns N 'Roses, while the second, also oriented public, also hosts most inspired groups by alternative metal, such as Korn, Slayer, and Sepultura. A tent covers two other scenes; "The Temple" is more dedicated to black metal, scheduling bands like God Seed or Cradle of Filth; "The Altar" rather producing groups death metal, like Opeth or Morbid Angel. The scene more particularly intended for hardcore punk, "the Warzone" welcomes groups like NOFX or Bad Religion; the scene of doom metal and stoner, "the Valley", is devoted to bands like Electric Wizard 27, 28 or Clutch. A seventh stage, the "Metal Corner" features the rock contest and DJ's sets and video projections.

• Stages in 2014
• 
  Mainstage 01
• 
  Mainstage 02
• 
  The Alter and The Temple Stages
• 
  Inside The Alter Stage
• 
  Inside The Temple Stage
• 
  The Valley Stage
• 
  Inside The Valley Stage
• 
  Entrance to the Warzone
• 
  Inside The Warzone
• 
  The Metal Corner

Scope

Implementation

The town of Clisson welcomes, in 2014, on all three days, about 150,000 festival-goers, with a maximum of 45,000 per day 29, more than ten times its population. The festival site covers about 14 hectares, five being dedicated to public reception. In addition 21 hectares are reserved for camping and parking 22 to 22. The entrance portico camping with festival goers heading to the scenes. Entrance to the campsite in 2013.

Several companies adapt their activities to the festival, such as the SNCF, which increases the number of trains stopping in Clisson station, of 35-42 over the four days. In addition, 400 people are mobilized by service companies 22, and a hundred specialized brands are present in the space of "Extreme Market" on the festival website 19. According to a survey in 2009, the economic impact of the festival at the local level is doing to 3.6 million approximately EUR for an expenditure of about € 60 per festival. In the countries of the Nantes vineyards, the hotel capacity of 2200 beds is filled during the festival, except the most remote, and economic impacts are felt in a radius of 30 km 21. Products like beer (140 000 liters in 2013) and Muscadet (10 000 liters in 2013) have a more intensive consumption 22.

Sociology of festival

The profile of the festival led to a study by Christophe Guibert of the University of Angers in 2011. The public is composed of 81% men; with an average age of 26 years, a festival in three has more than 30 years and 7% over 41 years. Festival goers in and out of the Extreme Market.

Several professional categories are, based on the French average, over-represented at the festival, such as managers and professionals (25% of festival), or holders of a bachelor's degree or a higher education qualification. In contrast, the unemployed only 6% of festival 30. Finally, the French festival goers come to 50% of the Greater West, 20% in the Paris region and 30% from the rest of France 31. Moreover, about 30% of festival goers come from a country other than France 32, mainly UK and the Iberian peninsula 31.

Attendance

With 102,000 entries, the 2013 Hellfest hoisted the second largest metal festivals d 'Europe and the third largest French music festival after festival of the Old Plough and Solidays 33.

Cultural and media impact

Concerning the media coverage of the festival, it is ensured in 2013 by a total of 650 journalists representing 360 media [31].

The festival is the filming location for several films and documentaries. The 2011 results in a report entitled The metal explained to my mother, led by Thomas VDB ​​and broadcast by France 4; the 2012 edition is the subject of a report by the television channel Arte and the location of a movie scene Pop Redemption, co-written by Alexandre Astier, where the Dead MaKabés (Julien Doré, Jonathan Cohen, Gregory Gadebois and Yacine Belhousse) play the film's title, in the late afternoon, after Guns N 'Roses, in front of about 2000 people [35], [36].

The presence of the event on social networks is also notable. In 2015, it counts more than 245,000 subscribers on Facebook, as well as the first French festival on this social network, and 16,400 followers on Twitter, the placing, this time to the third French place behind the 22,100 followers of Rock en Seine, and 18,900 followers of the Vieilles Charrues festival [37].

Partnerships

During the 2015 edition, a partnership with the community of skateboarding, the concept "Cross da cruzz" created a skatepark on the festival site, offering free demonstrations to the public.

In 2016, the partnership is with the Corsairs, the team of Division 1 ice hockey Nantes. "Hellfest is pleased to announce that it will sponsor the meeting on Saturday, February 13th at the rink from the small port, which oppose Corsairs Nantes Bisons to Neuilly-sur-Marne. On the occasion, the Corsairs will be redesigned and proudly be sporting the colors and "branded" players' shirts will be sold at auction for the charity "1 jersey - 1 life." The rink bathed in a warm and rock as the soundtrack will be, as it should be, 100% Metal! [38], [39], ".