Festivals

Music festival, film festival, comic book festival, theatre, gastronomy or literature festival, festivals have in common that they bring citizens together around a festive, joyful and unifying moment, centered around a given cultural interest. There is indeed number of festivals in France and for the vast majority of artistic fields, every year and every season. A diversity that makes festivals in France and their wealth, regardless of the number of participants. Even more than delighting festival-goers, they also play a driving role in the process of creating artists but also in the attractiveness of the territories where they take place. Fund a festival promoting an art, an activity, a city and an experience.

With this in mind and to help the festivals in 2020, weakened by the health crisis, the ministry now organizes every year States General of festivals with local authorities and organisers to encourage their action.

Panorama of festivals in France, how many, and what are they?

Both in their artistic field, their age and their number of participants, festivals in France are very diverse and difficult to qualify.

How many festivals are there in France?

A simple question yet complex. If the study SoFest of France festivals on the social and territorial footprint of festivals of live entertainment estimates its number 6,000, including 4,000 for music festivals alone, However, this is only an estimate because each year festivals are born while others cease 70% of the existing festivals today have indeed been created after the year 2000.
A constant renewal that shows the interest of the French and French for go to a festival. As volunteers or spectators, for a day or a whole weekend, 19% of citizens declared in 2018 to have gone to at least one festival every year. A scene that is renewed and abundant, or some that have survived for decades.

What is the oldest festival in France?

The Chorégies d'Orange in Vauclus won this title in France and even in the world. This festival of classical music, founded in 1869 by composer Hector Berlioz himself, celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2019.

In another area, we can also mention the Festival of blue nets in Concarneau in Finistère, created in 1902 that will celebrate this year its 100th edition around fishing.

What is the biggest festival in France?

Unsurprisingly, France’s largest festival is also a music festival: the Lorient Interceltic Festival, which welcomes up to 800,000 visitors each year around all forms of music from Celtic countries, from millennial songs to folk, rock, jazz, symphonic works.
In second place is the Fête de l'Humanité, a political but also musical and literary event organized each year by the newspaper of the same name and which hosted a record number of 800,000 festival-goers in 2018.

Hosting a festival, an opportunity to energize the territories

More than a culture festival, a festival is also an economic issue for artists, organizers and the venues of these annual performances.

Festivals and their local impact

Benefiting from the presence of a festival in his town or on the outskirts of his city is a real opportunity to stimulate the attractiveness of a territory. Hosting a festive event of this kind means welcoming hundreds, thousands or even hundreds of thousands of festival-goers; so many tourist opportunities for local traders; a predictable increase in activity for hotels, campsites, butcher shops, shops and restaurants but also local crafts. It is finally an opportunity for festival-goers to extend their stays and discover a region for a weekend, a week and perhaps even to welcome new inhabitants.

Fund a festival and community grants

For these reasons, when the organizers of these events ask themselves "how to finance a festival?'they can turn to many sources for grants.

At all levels, from town halls to departments and regions, local and regional authorities have a festival budget which allows them, under certain conditions and in various forms, to help the organizers, future actors of the influence of a territory through culture.

Aware of the importance of festivals in the dynamism of the territories, the Ministry of Culture created in 2020, an exceptional fund of 30 million euros. 
An aid fund set up in a context of health crisis having weakened many events, deprived of an edition.

Estates General festivals to revitalize a sector weakened by the health crisis

Since 2020, the Ministry of Culture has organized General States of Festivals

Actors and objectives of these States General

Every year since its creation, the Estates General of festivals bring together the State, local authorities, organisers and artists around a goal: to reinvent the model of festivals to strengthen their action and existence after the health crisis.

Over the past three years, strong decisions and commitments have been made, as well as an initial analysis of the festival sector. With, for example, the launch of an experimental festival mapping and an analysis of their audiences.

2022 is a Sustainable Development Charter for Festivals and a text with "State commitment principles for festivals" which have been decided. It is principles of commitments include a budget of the Ministry of Culture of 10 million euros dedicated to festivals. This budget will be divided into a "three-year contractualised aid for structuring festivals, a one-time aid to help certain festivals meet certain objectives of State policy and transversal aid."

Basic principles for granting assistance to festivals

To be eligible for these grants, festivals must respect certain fundamental principles: 

- Present an artistic and cultural project of general interest
- At least two previous editions
- To develop a programme whose independence and freedom of creation and programming are guaranteed by an artistic directorate which independently manages a dedicated budget
- Comply with the regulations on employment and labour law, safety and health and the environment, for any person contributing to the realization of the event, whether an employee or volunteer or whatever your status
- Ensure fair remuneration for artists and authors and respect for intellectual property law
- Promoting equal access for women and men to artistic programming and to creative support
- Have initiated a prevention and fight against gender and sexual violence in accordance with the plans developed by the Ministry of Culture and its operators
- Promoting diversity, equality and the fight against discrimination
- Respect the principles of the "Charter for Sustainable Development" by implementing sustainable and responsible actions for which the State can provide support.

An action dedicated to overseas territories

To respond to the specific challenges of the overseas departments and territories and to highlight their heritage, these fundamental principles are also adapted. The Ministry of Culture’s commitment to support festivals in the Ultramarine Territories will thus take into account: 

- The geographical location of these territories, whose remoteness generates additional transport costs for artists, as well as a special economy
- Specific events such as carnivals or artistic events that highlight contemporary artistic forms or intangible cultural heritage.

All of the "Principles of State Commitment to Festivals" is to be found here as a download

Whether traditional or innovative, festivals are a breeding ground for contemporary artistic creation. Regardless of their discipline, they attract a diverse and intergenerational audience to the cities and territories that welcome them, representing a major economic issue for them. For these reasons, it is the mission of the Ministry to support them in their funding and defend their existence in all the territories of the country.