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What was this Festival ?
When did it take place ?
Where is Tournai ?
Who took part in the Festival ?
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What ?
The International Folk Dance Festival of Tournai was recognized by the C.I.O.F.F. (Conseil International des Organisations de Festivals de Folklore et d'arts traditionnels, status B of UNESCO) in february 1993.
It had an increasing success, due to the high standard of the invited groups, the organization, as well as the atmosphere of friendship between the groups and the inhabitants.
2008 is the year of the 25th and last Festival.
When ?
At the end of September and the beginning of October, from Tuesday to the first Sunday in october.
Usually, groups arrived on Thursday before, danced and visited in towns outside Tournai from Friday to Monday, and left on Monday after.
Where ?
In Tournai, in Wallonia, the french-speaking part of Belgium.
20 km from the french border, 30 km from Lille, 100 km from Brussels.
Tournai is a place of historical interest, and guided tours of the town were organized for each group. There was also a day trip to a touristic region of Belgium.
The shows in Tournai took place at the Culture Hall (high tech equipment, 900 seats). The entrance hall was at the disposal of the groups, to sell craftwork, tapes or records related to their group or their region.
The heart of the festival (meals, balls, meeting point) was the historical Hall of Drapers, on the Great Square of Tournai.
A map of Tournai shows those importants places of the Festival and gives you many informations.
Who ?
Top-level folk-dancing groups, of maximum 40 persons.
Each group had their own musicians, and had to be able to perform a show of 90 mn (2 x 45mn), and to present a show in the streets.
You can look at the list of all the groups who took part in the Festival of Tournai till now : sorted by country or by year.
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