Festival d'Avignon

The Festival d'Avignon: cradle of living theatre since 1947

Founded in 1947 by actor and director Jean Vilar, the Festival d'Avignon was born from a deep conviction: that theatre should be accessible to all, and that the stage can transform society. During the first edition, Vilar presented three plays in the Cour d'Honneur of the Palais des Papes with actors like Gérard Philipe, under the Provençal July stars. This artistic and popular gamble would become one of the most famous festivals in the world.

For nearly eighty years, the Festival d'Avignon has continuously reinvented itself while remaining true to its foundations: artistic excellence, diversity of forms, and cultural democratization. It hosts around fifty shows each year, from plays to multidisciplinary performances, including dance, circus arts, and hybrid forms from international contemporary creation.

The Cour d'Honneur of the Palais des Papes: a unique venue in the world

At the heart of the festival is the legendary Cour d'Honneur of the Palais des Papes, a monumental open-air stage inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. With its high golden walls bathed in light, this space of nearly 2,000 seats offers an incomparable architectural setting for the most ambitious creations. Every July evening, it becomes the stage for a unique encounter between artists, the public, and the millennia-old history of Avignon.

Beyond the Cour d'Honneur, a dozen venues scattered throughout the city — La FabricA, Opéra Grand Avignon, the gymnasium of Lycée Saint-Joseph, the Cloître des Carmes — complete the festival's map and accommodate more intimate or experimental forms.

An engaged artistic direction

Since 2014, Olivier Py led the festival with a committed vision, making the stage a space for poetic and political resistance. In 2022, Portuguese director Tiago Rodrigues succeeded him, bringing a new transnational sensibility and a strong taste for participatory forms and shared dramaturgy. Under his direction, the festival explores contemporary issues — migration, identity, memory — with a resolute openness to artists from the global South.

A multidisciplinary and international festival

While theatre remains the heart of the Festival d'Avignon, its program embraces all forms of performing arts. Contemporary dance, circus, music, performance, and visual arts coexist in a program that hosts artists from over twenty nationalities each year. Specific programs like "Première fois" facilitate access for newcomers, while the Café des idées offers meetings and debates with artists every morning.

The festival, which mobilizes over 3,000 accredited participants and welcomes around 130,000 spectators each year, generates considerable economic impact for the city of Avignon and the entire Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. It is recognized as one of the main drivers of cultural tourism in France.

Support and education programs

For several decades, the festival has developed programs to provide access to works for audiences distant from culture:

• J'y suis, j'en suis: immersive stays of 3-4 days for young people aged 11 to 25, with workshops and artist meetings
• Artiste complice: resident artists who share their creative process with local groups
• Transmission impossible: intergenerational artist transmission program
• Territoires cinématographiques: screenings related to the theatrical program

Global reach and strategic partnerships

In November 2025, the Festival d'Avignon announced its first trilateral partnership with the Edinburgh International Festival and the Holland Festival, three of the world's largest performing arts festivals. This strategic alliance marks a new stage in international cooperation around contemporary creation.

Each year, journalists, programmers, and producers from around the world travel to Avignon to discover new creations, making the festival an essential showcase for the global artistic scene and a starting point for international tours of shows.