PRESS RELEASE – Artistic excellence and large attendance make for a successful 31st edition of the verbier festival with a 11% growth in ticket sales compared to 2023.
A new chairman appointed on the board of the verbier festival.
Announcement of a new foundation for the development of the verbier cultural center.
5 August 2024 – Verbier (Suisse) – The 31st edition of the Verbier Festival ended last night after 18 extraordinary days filled with music. The quality and diversity of the 2024 programme were unanimously praised by the public: 2024 will go down as the second-best year for ticket sales since the Verbier Festival was founded, with 11% growth over 2023. 20 concerts were sold out – 10 at the Salle des Combins and 10 at the Église – and nearly 40,000 tickets were issued for this record edition.
The Academy was also a great success, with around hundred free masterclasses. UNLTD, the Verbier Festival’s Creative Lab, also attracted many new festival goers, with some 50 events, notably on Rue de Médran turned into “UNLTD Avenue” in the heart of Verbier. Solidarity concerts were organized on 2 August for the people of Lourtier and Sarreyer (the residents of the Commune de Val de Bagnes affected by the torrential lava flow on 3 July).
“We owe this success to the amazing Verbier family of artists, who once again delivered extraordinary performances. Thank you to them and to all our teams, partners and the public for their trust and support. We can now open a new chapter for the Verbier Festival with ambition and serenity. We look forward to seeing you again next year,” commented both Martin Engstroem and Hervé Boissière, Co-CEOs.
At the opening ceremony on 18 July, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe announced his decision to step down as Chairman of the Board of the Verbier Festival Foundation to devote himself fully to the development of the future Verbier Cultural Centre. He will be joined in this new mission by Patrick Aebischer and Patrick de Preux.
François Reyl, currently a member of the Board, was unanimously appointed as Chairman by the Verbier Festival Foundation Board, effective 1 October 2024.
“After several years as a member of the Board, I am delighted to become Chairman to contribute to the development of the Verbier Festival, a fine entrepreneurial initiative. The Verbier Festival’s vocation is to bring together, for the enjoyment of local and international audiences, the exceptional performances of the greatest artists on the musical scene with the young talents who learn from their mentors and ensure the next generation. I intend to help perpetuate this vision, magnificently initiated by Martin Engstroem and institutionalized by Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Hervé Boissière and the Verbier Festival’s great artistic and operational team,” declares François Reyl.
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe will become Chairman of the new “Fondation du Centre Culturel de Verbier”, which will be set up shortly to design, operate and develop this new cultural platform for the Val de Bagnes community and music lovers from all over the world.
“The time has come for me to devote myself fully to another major project close to my heart: the creation of a cultural center here in Verbier, of which the Verbier Festival will be a major partner. To this end, I will be stepping down from my position at the Fondation du Verbier Festival and create a new foundation. The mission of this cultural center is to make Verbier a unique platform in the world, combining sporting performance with cultural excellence. I would like to thank the public, our sponsors and our partners for the trust they have placed in us for so many years, and I am personally looking forward to this new challenge,” says Peter Brabeck-Letmathe.
Photos of the 2024 edition
https://gofile.me/5fg2L/UDNi8V2T0
The 32nd edition of the Verbier Festival will be held from 16 July to 3 August 2025.
