Festival Entre Rhône et Saône

The Festival Entre Rhône et Saône: Lyon Reinventing its Relationship with its Rivers

Launched in July 2022 by the City of Lyon, the Festival Entre Rhône et Saône — commonly known as FERES — is a multidisciplinary event that celebrates the exceptional river heritage of the capital of the Gauls. Lyon, founded at the confluence of the Rhône and the Saône, has maintained an intimate relationship with its waterways for two millennia. The festival revives this memory and projects this relationship into the future, through the prism of culture, ecology, and living together.

Celebrate, Discover, Protect

The festival is structured around three fundamental pillars:

• Celebrate: concerts, street performances, parades, and artistic performances animate the riverbanks and squares along both rivers.
• Discover: heritage tours, exhibitions, conferences, and guided walks reveal Lyon's river history, from antiquity to the present day.
• Protect: environmental awareness workshops, riverbank cleanups, and scientific conferences encourage citizens to become active participants in preserving their waterways.

Over 200 Free Events

Each edition offers over 200 free events spread over three days and two evenings. The program is developed with local stakeholders: MJC, Musée Gadagne, Archives municipales de Lyon, the association L'eau à Lyon, and many other cultural, sports, and community organizations in the region.

Three Iconic Neighborhoods

The festival takes place in three emblematic areas of Lyon, each offering a different perspective on the city's relationship with water:

• Confluence: a contemporary district born from the meeting of the Rhône and the Saône, symbolizing Lyon's urban renewal.
• Guillotière: the left bank of the Rhône, a popular and cosmopolitan district that has always lived to the rhythm of the river.
• Île Barbe: a wild and heritage island on the Saône, north of Lyon, a place steeped in history and legends.

An Eco-Responsible and Participatory Festival

FERES is designed as a zero-waste event, in line with the environmental challenges it addresses. The participatory approach is at the heart of the project: each year, a call for projects is launched to associations, collectives, and artists from the region to co-create the program. This collaborative approach ensures strong local roots and a diversity of offerings that reflect the richness of Lyon's cultural fabric.

A Family-Friendly and Accessible Event

The festival is entirely free and accessible to all audiences. Specific activities are offered for children, with a fun interactive quiz and adapted workshops. Accessibility for people with disabilities is a particular focus in the design of spaces and cultural mediation.