The
desire to create an Advertising Festival in Sitges was born out of the
parameter of success that worked for years in other locations: cities with
large Film Festivals that have also endowed themselves with their own
Advertising Festival. Cannes and San Sebastian are the examples present in our
minds, but there are others, like Venice, Berlin and Austin.
With this
initiative, we wanted Sitges to follow a successful model. We have experience
in organizing festivals of international relevance, we have the necessary
infrastructure, we have the organizational structure of the Film Festival
Foundation and we want to make a tremendous leap forward. Sitges needs
initiatives that bring about added value, and help us to position the city in a
high quality scenario with projection and prestige.
On
the way to the creation of the initial edition of Sitges Next, we had some key
allies. First, the Government of Catalonia, through the Catalan Institute of
Cultural Industries. From the moment I explained the project to the Director of
ICEC, Jordi Sellas, he gave full support and we started to work together along
three coordinates: 1, that it would be a National Festival of Catalonia, just
as the Film Festival. 2, geared to the entire world, and 3, with the
involvement and participation of stakeholders and communication and advertising
industry.
And
in this sense, the support of the industry has been crucial for the project:
the School of Advertising and Public Relations of Catalonia, the Advertising
Business Association, the Mobile World Capital, the Ramon Llull University and
Catalan Broadcasting Corporation. All of them are part of the Advisory Council
of Sitges Next. For Sitges, to gather such prestigious institutions around a
local project with an international penchant represents a value to be taken
into consideration.
The
location of Sitges Next on the calendar allows us to complete the circuit that
goes from Carnival to May, with continuing activities that provide added value
to tourism. One of our obsessions during this term was to rearrange the
schedule of events and festivities during the second part of winter and early
spring. It was a season that needed a bigger boost in the tourist calendar.
For
this reason, we have held constant meetings with the organizers of each event
in order to avoid mutual competition and to schedule everything in a way that
during every week there is a meeting of relevance. This weekend is the turn of
the International Patchwork Festival; then will the Vintage Car Rally, the Art
Fair, Scrap Fair, Sitges Next ... High quality tourism with added value.
