Labour festival

A labour festival (in the US, 'labor festival') is a festival related to the labour movement usually occurring annually. Labour festivals are some of the biggest political gatherings in Europe. Often they are outdoors in the summer and (more akin to a Fête) they incorporate music (particularly brass band), parades, film, historical commemoration and food and drink. One of the well-known ones is Durham Miners' Gala attended by some 100,000 attendees. Some are run by communist or socialist parties such as Fête de l'Humanité,[1] Fête de Lutte Ouvrière, Avante! Festival, Odigitis festival and Festa Democratica. Some were formerly so, such as Edinburgh Labour People's Festival. Some commemorate trade unionism or history such as Burston Strike School and Tolpuddle Martyrs festival.[2] Glastonbury Festival has a The Left Field and has been addressed by Labour leaders.

Durham Miners' Gala 2008

Events edit

FestivalCountryContinentYear establishedMonthAttendance
Avante! FestivalPortugalEurope1976September
Durham Miners' GalaUnited KingdomEurope1871July100,000
Fête de l'HumanitéFranceEurope1930September100,000
Festa Democratica/Festa de l'UnitàItalyEurope2007
Fête de Lutte OuvrièreFranceEurope1981May25,000[3]
LaborFest, San FranciscoUnited StatesNorth America1993July
ManiFiestaBelgiumEurope2010September19,000 (2016)
Odigitis FestivalGreeceEuropeSeptember
Tolpuddle Martyrs festivalUnited KingdomEurope1922July10,000
UZ-PressefestGermanyEurope1993June60,000

References edit

  1. ^ "France's 24-hour parti people | Tony Shallcross". TheGuardian.com. 17 September 2010.
  2. ^ "Tolpuddle Martyrs festival expects record-breaking crowd". TheGuardian.com. 15 July 2011.
  3. ^ "Good culture, bad politics - Communist Party of Great Britain". Archived from the original on 2013-05-05. Retrieved 2013-04-22.