Montreux Jazz draws the crowds

This year’s Montreux Jazz Festival, which ends on Saturday, has been a success, say organisers. This 57th edition of the famous festival has drawn some 250,000 music-lovers, thanks in large part to the free concerts which were full almost every evening, generating impressive queues. The average occupancy rate for the two paying venues was 90% over 32 evenings. "I'm particularly happy with this year's festival," enthused festival director Mathieu Jaton as he brought the two-week event to a close. This is not only because of the excellent ticket sales but a spirit of sharing between artists and audiences which gave the event a "feeling of collective euphoria", he said. + Read more about this year’s Montreux Jazz Festival Several artists mingled with the crowd, to the delight of the audience. These included Chilly Gonzales, who managed to do it with a seated audience, and Seal, who sang for over 30 minutes in the middle of the crowd. "Here, artists agree to give up a little of...