With a danceable and energetic show by Florence + The MachineO MITA Festival ended its second edition on Sunday night, the 4th, divided between mistakes and successes of its debut in Anhangabaú Valley. With the criticism that popped up from the public in downtown São Paulo and on social media, the production of the show claims that it sought to “adapt the space in the best possible way”, admits that it needs to make improvements, but defends some problems as “typical of events of this size” and with a final balance of “success”
After the Virada Cultural, MITA was yet another fire test of the new space, which reopened in 2021 and since the end of that year has been managed by the Viva o Vale consortium. The goal is for the venue to become a reference for mega-events in the capital of São Paulo, but shows with international attractions capable of moving crowds and bringing tourists from other states were still unheard of until this weekend.
The idea of taking the concept of the premium track to a festival, in addition to being a novelty for the format in Brazil, was one of the main complaints from the public who only had access to the common track, especially due to the challenges that the structure of the Vale do Anhangabaú imposes. . “There were a lot of people in front and the main stage was very far away, with the screen also very far away”, says Rany Souza, who was accompanied by her friend Amanda Padarelli in the two days of MITA.
The ticket price for the common track where the two 26-year-olds tried to see the show was R$ 350 (half-price) and R$ 700 (full price). They say, however, that they could only see snippets of the presentation in Lana Del Rey, the headliner on Saturday, the 3rd, when they squeezed to find a crack where they could watch the big screen. “The stage should be higher”, suggests Amanda.
Insurance technician Darcy Souza, 29, praises the general structure of the event, the ease of access to the venue and the organization of bathrooms, food and queues, but repeats the girls’ complaint: “I liked it, but the stage is small. who is too far behind, you can’t see the show, mainly because there are too many trees and posts”.
His friend Jean Cavalcanti, 31 years old, countered that he found the first edition of MITA, at Spark Arena, more organized, despite the fact that the current one has “more well-known names” in the lineup. They agree, however, on one point: “The view from the common track could be improved. What I think is cool about the festival is not having this division, because then fans can arrive early and be closer to the stage”, he says.
The two main attractions of MITA 2023 were the British Florence Welch, leader of the band Florence + The Machine, and the muse of indie pop Lana Del Rey. With careers that surpass the mark of a decade, both conquered faithful bases of fans that already pilgrimage and sold out previous shows in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
At the Rock in Rio, the last festival in which Florence performed here, in 2013, the privileged area where celebrities and guests stay is made up of sponsored or event-owned boxes, which differ only by the distance from the stage. None of them, however, manages to block the view of those who paid for the regular ticket. Between the public and the artist, the only space is the so-called “moat” for photographers, videographers and a few other privileged VIPs.
O Lollapaloozawhich hosted Lana Del Rey’s last show in Brazil, in 2018, also does not face the same problem as MITA, as it is held at the Interlagos Circuit, where the relief of the area positions the audience at a height above the stage. , which is still visible even from afar.
In Vale do Anhangabaú, the vertical structure itself makes it impossible for this to happen, in addition to demanding an excessive amount of wires covered by insulation ramps that spread across the floor and hinder the flow.
“The design of the Valley is exactly like a large corridor, and that’s how it has always hosted various events”, says Luiz Guilherme Niemeyer, Luiz Oscar Niemeyer’s partner at Bonus Track, the company that produces the MITA Festival with 30e. “At a festival, many people really stay away from the stage and that’s why we have vertical screens on both stages, to facilitate visibility, and we focus on sound quality.”
‘We can improve’
Niemeyer says that MITA was sized for the limit of 30,000 people in the Valley, whose total area of 58,000 square meters was also occupied by activation stands for sponsoring brands, food and beverage kiosks and the entire structure of a festival. “In any event of this size there is a need for sound and lighting towers, which are installed throughout the area.”
“We have a concert venue that is the center of the city of São Paulo, and much of the structure cannot be changed. We seek to adapt the space in the best possible way”, he says. The lack of spaces for the public to sit and rest between one show and another, however, he admits: “It’s really a point that we can improve”.
One of the reliefs and praises of the MITA audience was the security structure set up on the route between the Anhangabaú and São Bento do Metrô stations and the festival site. In the last edition of Virada Cultural, held a week earlier, reinforcement in policing had already proved to be effective, as the Estadão showed, but the feeling of insecurity in the city center remains, so much so that the public at the previous event was smaller than usual.
Between mistakes and successes, Niemeyer does not rule out, but neither does he confirm that a next edition of MITA will return to Anhangabaú: “We are currently closing the 2023 edition and we are sure that the event in the heart of the city was a success. thinking about the 2024 event?.
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