Part of a European network of summer music festivals, this brilliant day-long event takes place among the streets, squares and green spaces of Lausanne on the summer solstice, offering a huge range of free open-air concerts across all musical styles from jazz to rock to folk to classical.
In the spirit of the organisation’s defining principles, artists come from far and wide and perform on a volunteer basis, in order to keep the festival free. As well as supporting local musicians from Lausanne and the canton of Vaud, the Fête de la Musique welcomes artists from other festivals in the network, just as it sends musicians from here to other countries . It also encourages some of Lausanne’s bigger musical institutions, such as orchestras and the opera house, to step out of their normal performance spaces.
It’s a fun day out, so it’s no wonder that around 40,000 people turn up to enjoy performances from around 2,000 artists in practically every nook and cranny in town. Food and drink stalls make the most of the crowds, and if the sun is shining you could easily spend all day wandering from gig to gig.