Just a few hours after the 38th annual edition of Montreal's International Jazz Festival drew to a close, organizers say they are thrilled with the way this year's event has gone.
Official counts of the number of guests at this year's festival have yet to be revealed, but Jacques-André Dupont, the President and CEO of the JazzFest, says many events drew record crowds. He added that high turnout helped the festival to keep to its budget.
This year's edition of the world-renowned event benefited from an influx of federal, provincial and municipal cash because of Canada 150 and Montreal's 375th birthday. The increase in funds likely also helped the festival break even.
Despite this year's projected high turnout, Dupont is still warning of a cultural "post-partum" next year, largely as a result of 2018 not marking a major anniversary for Canada or Montreal. The impact will be twofold: the festival organization can expect less money from all levels of government, and with no major local year-long celebration, there will likely be less excitement to draw potential concertgoers to the Place des Festivals for JazzFest.
The 2018 Jazz Festival will run from June 28th until July 7th.