Claude Nobs, founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival, has said he is satisfied with this year’s event, which ended on Saturday.
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The festival was overshadowed, however, by fighting on Friday and Saturday night between drunken revellers who threw bottles and stones at security forces, seriously injuring one person. Eleven people were arrested on Friday, ten on Saturday.
Nobs said 87 per cent of tickets had been sold – “almost a record” – receipts from food and drink had gone up by ten per cent and that there had been a total of 240,000 visitors, up from 200,000 last year.
The festival, now in its 45th year, benefited from good weather, he said. There had been only one rainy day.
Highlights for Nobs were the opening concert with Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin, and the appearance of Trombone Shorty. Nobs was so impressed by “this artist who can do everything” that he has already booked him for an homage to Louis Armstrong in 2012.
Next year’s festival will take place from June 29 to July 14 and is set to feature two concerts by Leonard Cohen.
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.