Big Festival

Big Festival: Biarritz's Musical Heritage

The Big Festival marked Biarritz's cultural history for nearly a decade, from 2008 to 2016. Created to make the seaside resort a major hub for pop, rock, and electro music, this ambitious event successfully attracted international headliners to the Basque Coast and transformed Biarritz into the summer's music capital.

Three Venues, Three Atmospheres

One of the Big Festival's unique features was its spread across three emblematic sites in Biarritz:

• Big Village (Côte des Basques): The festival village during the day, with activities, beach volleyball, children's games, and food stalls facing the ocean.
• Big Live (Stade Aguilera): The main pop and rock concerts in the evening, with open-air stages for thousands of spectators.
• Big Boîte (Halle d'Iraty): Electro clubbing nights until dawn, featuring the best DJs from the French and international scene.

Internationally Renowned Artists

Throughout its nine editions, the Big Festival hosted major artists: The Chemical Brothers, Pharrell Williams, Stromae, Placebo, Metronomy, Gesaffelstein, Kavinsky, Mr Oizo, Synapson, The Libertines, and many others. This high-caliber programming helped position Biarritz on the map of major European festivals.

An Interrupted Festival

In February 2017, the Biarritz municipality announced it would not renew the festival. Mayor Michel Veunac cited the significant deficit of the last edition and the excessive demands of the Parisian organizers, who requested a doubling of municipal subsidies (130,000 euros the previous year). This decision ended one of the most popular musical events on the Basque Coast.

A Living Legacy

Despite its interruption, the Big Festival left a lasting mark on Biarritz's cultural life. It demonstrated the city's capacity to host large-scale musical events and paved the way for other festivals like Ocean Fest or Biarritz Hall Music Festival, which continue the city's musical tradition.