2023-10-30 08:40:00
The UVTF organized a press conference on October 23 in Dax where its Mayor and President of the association, Julien Dubois, took stock of 2023 and the prospects for attracting young aficionados.
Julien Dubois, mayor of Dax and President of the UVTF (union of French bullfighting towns) took stock of the 2023 season and the actions to be taken to retain the loyalty of young people who have shown an interest in bullfighting.
“We are delighted with the increase in attendance this season 2023 which is reaching, in certain arenas, much higher levels than before COVID. This shows that bullfighting is progressing despite the tense international economic context,” notes Julien Dubois. He explains this renewed interest by “the virulent attacks suffered last year which made it possible to expose our cultural values in the national press and which our arguments, in addition to offering us a political victory in the Assembly, have infused in the population and aroused real interest and benevolent curiosity. These attacks also provoked a positive reaction from aficionados who mobilized.”
The mayor of Dax also highlights “the success of the Afición School through which the UVTF purchased 2,500 places in 15 arenas to offer them to young people under 25 years old to complement the numerous youth tendidos at reduced prices offered in place in many arenas.
If this operation will be renewed in 2024, the President of the UVTF wants to go further because “we must retain their loyalty by offering them access to the knowledge of such a complex art. The world is changing, we read less and new technologies seem to create a gap between generations instead of forging links between them, as was the case with the tertulias and publications of yesteryear. We must therefore use these same communication tools that our young people love to make them our ambassadors to their different age communities. So, at the end of the year, we are going to publish an electronic book with free access (“understanding bullfighting”) and we are working on a touchscreen application for smartphones and tablets, also free access.”
André Viard will be the project manager of these two projects and Julien Dubois is convinced that “this cultural dimension will help us to consolidate the status of bullfighting in France and to obtain its definitive protection”.
Finally, the UVTF wishes to consult bullfighting professionals to “update the Municipal Bullfighting Regulations by the end of the year and works closely with the RUCTL and the French Ministry of Agriculture to resolve problems relating to MHE ( “mosquito disease”) and thus facilitate the movement of bulls in 2024 between France and Spain.
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