Fêtes de la Saint-Louis
Tradition/joutes in Sète, Hérault
2026
About Fêtes de la Saint-Louis
Fêtes de la Saint-Louis — edition 2026
Fêtes de la Saint-Louis 2026 in Sète
The Saint-Louis festival, a tradition dating back to the founding of the port of Sète in 1666, returns from Wednesday, August 19th to Tuesday, August 25th, 2026 for its 282nd edition. For seven days and nights, the city celebrates the art of Languedoc jousting, with 454 jousters competing this year.
Jousting at the heart of the festival
Tournaments are held on the Cadre Royal in the city center, organized by category: cart jousting, the Press and personalities tournament, and women's jousting on Thursday; youth jousting and the "Challenge Gaston Macone" Gold Cup on Friday; and middleweight jousting on Saturday. The highlight is the grand heavyweight tournament on Monday, August 24th at 2:30 PM, broadcast on a giant screen at the Pont de la Savonnerie and live-streamed on the city's website. Each tournament is preceded by a parade of jousters in traditional costume, accompanied by oboes, drums, and the Peña Bella Ciao band.
Concerts, shows, and entertainment
The 282nd edition features Robert Combas as guest of honor, with a poster designed by Magali Réthoré. Every evening, La Placette (Place Léon-Blum) and the Esplanade (Place Aristide-Briand) host free concerts featuring artists such as the Paul Selmer Orchestra, DJ 2Fik, Replay, and many more. On Saturday, August 22nd at 10:30 PM, the "Incandescences Sète" pyromelodic show will combine fireworks, live music, and light displays over the Maison Régionale de la Mer basin for a 40-minute spectacle. Ten quayside bars will be open around the Cadre Royal throughout the week.
Sports, traditions, and exhibitions
Beyond jousting, the week includes the "Vire-Vire" (traditional sailing boat race), the 105th Sète Swimming Crossing on Monday, August 24th at 9:00 AM, the 31st traditional rowing Grand Prix, the first Coffee Race, the first Saint-Louis Cycling Grand Prix, and various tournaments including chess, pétanque, and square boules. Three exhibitions accompany the festivities: "Taillés sur mesure" at the Maritime Museum, "De génération en génération" on the Esplanade, and "La Saint-Louis remonte le temps" on Rue Gambetta.
The festivities conclude on Tuesday, August 25th, 2026 at 10:00 PM with a grand fireworks display launched from the breakwater.
Highlights Fêtes de la Saint-Louis 2026
- Grand Heavyweight Jousting Tournament — Monday, August 24th at 2:30 PM at the Cadre Royal, broadcast on a giant screen and live on sete.fr
- "Incandescences Sète", a 40-minute pyromelodic show — Saturday, August 22nd at 10:30 PM at the Maison Régionale de la Mer
- 105th Sète Swimming Crossing — Monday, August 24th at 9:00 AM, starting at the Cadre Royal
- Grand closing fireworks — Tuesday, August 25th at 10:00 PM, launched from the breakwater
- Robert Combas, guest of honor for this 282nd edition
- Two new events: the Coffee Race (Saturday, August 22nd at 10:00 AM) and the Saint-Louis Cycling Grand Prix (Wednesday, August 19th at 8:30 PM)
- Free concerts every evening at La Placette and the Esplanade, plus ten quayside bars around the Cadre Royal
Programme Fêtes de la Saint-Louis 2026
Wednesday, August 19th, 2026
- 7:30 PM — Official opening of the 282nd Saint-Louis at La Placette, with Mayor Hervé Marquès, poster artist Magali Réthoré, and guest of honor Robert Combas, followed by an opening aperitif and a dance with the Paul Selmer Orchestra
- 8:30 PM — 1st Saint-Louis Cycling Grand Prix, starting at Avenue Victor-Hugo (50-lap urban circuit)
- 9:30 PM — Concert by DJ and composer 2Fik at the Théâtre Molière forecourt
Thursday, August 20th, 2026
- 1:45 PM — Welcome for the oboes and drums at Sète train station
- 2:30 PM — Start of the "Vire-Vire" traditional sailing boat race
- 5:45 PM — Parade of young jousters starting from City Hall
- 6:00 PM — Cart jousting tournament at the Cadre Royal
- 9:00 PM — Parade for the 19th Press, Personalities, and Women's jousting tournament at La Placette
- 9:00 PM — Dance with the group Sensation at the Esplanade
- 9:00 PM — Pop-rock concert by Replay at La Placette
- 9:15 PM — 19th Press, Personalities, and Women's jousting tournament at the Cadre Royal
Friday, August 21st, 2026
- 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM — Boules Lyonnaises competition at the Louis Molle boulodrome
- 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM — "Place aux enfants!" tielle-making workshop for ages 6-12 at La Placette (registration: 04 99 04 70 68)
- 10:00 AM — "Île Singulière" painting exhibition at the Chapelle des Pénitents
- 10:00 AM — Saint-Louis Tennis Tournament semi-finals at Mas Viel
- 11:00 AM — Signing of the limited-edition screen-printed poster by Magali Réthoré at the Halles forecourt
- 2:15 PM — Parade of junior jousters from City Hall
- 2:30 PM — Junior jousting tournament at the Cadre Royal
- 6:00 PM — Literary café with Christophe Vilar at Parc Simone Veil
- 8:45 PM — Parade for the "Challenge Gaston Macone" Gold Cup at La Placette
- 9:00 PM — "Challenge Gaston Macone" Gold Cup jousting tournament at the Cadre Royal
- 9:00 PM — Concert by Les Enjoliveurs at La Placette
- 9:00 PM — Elegant Gipsy concert at the Esplanade
Saturday, August 22nd, 2026
- 9:00 AM — 15th Square Boules Tournament in the Décanale Saint-Louis district
- 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM — 13th Sète Chess Tournament at Salle Georges Brassens
- 10:00 AM — 1st Coffee Race starting from City Hall
- 12:00 PM — Opening of the "Île Singulière" painting exhibition at the Chapelle des Pénitents
- 1:30 PM — Parade of middleweight jousters at La Placette
- 2:00 PM — Middleweight jousting tournament at the Cadre Royal
- 2:30 PM — City of Sète Pétanque Challenge at Mas Coulet
- 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM — Children's entertainment at the Esplanade
- 8:00 PM — Children's concert with Kenzo Performer at the Esplanade
- 10:30 PM — "Incandescences Sète" pyromelodic show at the Maison Régionale de la Mer
Sunday, August 23rd, 2026
- From 7:00 AM — Saint-Louis cycling rides (gravel, mountain bike, and road) starting from Avenue du Maréchal-Juin
- 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM — 5th Oval Boules competition at the Fish Market
- 9:30 AM — 82nd Anniversary of the Liberation of Sète at the train station
- 10:00 AM — Junior jousters' shield ceremony at Théâtre Molière
- 10:15 AM — Grand parade of junior, middle, and heavyweight jousters
- 11:00 AM — Oboe and drum performance at La Placette
- 11:00 AM — Saint-Louis High Mass at Décanale Saint-Louis
- 2:15 PM — Parade of junior and middleweight jousters from City Hall
- 2:30 PM — Junior and middleweight jousting tournaments at the Cadre Royal
- 6:00 PM — 5th Barrel Rolling Tournament at the Fish Market
- 6:30 PM — 82nd Liberation Anniversary ceremony at the Resistance Monument
- 8:00 PM — Italianissimo concert at the Esplanade
- 8:00 PM — Endless Soul concert at La Placette
- 8:15 PM — Parade for the traditional rowing Grand Prix at La Placette
- 8:30 PM — 31st Saint-Louis Traditional Rowing Grand Prix at the Cadre Royal
Monday, August 24th, 2026
- 9:00 AM — 105th Sète Swimming Crossing (1000m and 2500m) at the Cadre Royal
- 10:00 AM — "Île Singulière" exhibition at the Chapelle des Pénitents
- 11:00 AM — Heavyweight jousters' parade to City Hall
- 2:00 PM — Heavyweight jousters' parade from City Hall
- 2:30 PM — Grand Heavyweight Jousting Tournament at the Cadre Royal, broadcast on a giant screen and live on sete.fr
- 7:00 PM — Concert by JM Rinaldi and Franck Fulcrand at La Placette
- 8:30 PM — "Jean Dumas" Lyric Gala at Parc Simone Veil
Tuesday, August 25th, 2026
- 8:30 PM — Musical evening with the Goldstar Orchestra at Promenade Jean-Baptiste-Marty
- 10:00 PM — Grand closing fireworks display from the breakwater
- 10:30 PM to Midnight — Evening continues with the Goldstar Orchestra
Prices Fêtes de la Saint-Louis 2026
Some activities require prior registration: the children's tielle workshop (04 99 04 70 68), "Customize your jousting shield" creative workshops ([email protected]), the oval boules competition, the pétanque challenge, and the chess tournament.
A reserved area for people with reduced mobility is available on Monday, August 24th from 2:00 PM at the Cadre Royal, near the Nocca jouster statue. Spaces are limited; please register with the Sète CCAS Autonomy Department (04 67 51 84 75 or 04 67 51 65 15) upon presentation of a disability card or MDPH notification confirming an incapacity rate of at least 80%.
Practical information — Fêtes de la Saint-Louis
Practical Information
Location
The jousting tournaments take place on the Cadre Royal, along the Canal Royal in the city center of Sète (34200), in the Hérault department. Parades depart from the Théâtre Molière, the Town Hall, or La Placette (Place Léon-Blum). Concerts are mainly held at La Placette and the Esplanade (Place Aristide-Briand), while fireworks displays take place over the water at the Maison Régionale de la Mer and from the breakwater.
Prices
Access is free and open to the public for all tournaments, parades, concerts, and entertainment. Some children's workshops and sports competitions require prior registration.
Accessibility
A reserved area for people with reduced mobility is set up at the Cadre Royal, at the foot of the Nocca jouster statue, for the grand heavyweight tournament. Places are limited and require registration with the CCAS de Sète Autonomy Department (04 67 51 84 75 or 04 67 51 65 15), upon presentation of an 'Invalidity' mobility inclusion card.
Follow the festival
The grand heavyweight jousting tournament is broadcast on a giant screen at the Pont de la Savonnerie and streamed live at www.sete.fr. Radio Saint-Louis (RSL, 93.3 FM, studio at 16 rue Paul-Valéry) sets up its studio in the heart of the festival and broadcasts the major tournaments on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday live, with daily magazines from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM and podcasts available for replay.
Quayside bars
About a dozen quayside bars are set up around the Cadre Royal and in the surrounding streets for the duration of the festival. Alcohol service ends at 2:30 AM, and at 2:00 AM on the final day, with musical performances ending at 1:30 AM. The city conducts a prevention campaign against drink spiking, offering free reusable silicone glass covers.
Contact
City of Sète — www.sete.fr. Archipel de Thau Tourist Office: 04 99 04 71 71, [email protected].
Saint-Louis Festival in Sète
The Fêtes de la Saint-Louis is the major patronal festival of Sète, located in the Hérault department of Occitanie. Every year in late August, for nearly a week, the city comes alive with the spirit of Languedoc jousting and the white-clad knights of the tintaine. The 2026 edition, running from August 19 to 25, marks the 282nd anniversary of this tradition, which draws tens of thousands of spectators, including locals from Sète and the Thau basin, as well as tourists.
A tradition born with the city
Sète was founded on July 29, 1666, under the festive auspices of Languedoc jousting, and the festival was launched to honor King Louis XIV, the city's founder—hence the name Saint-Louis. Interrupted by the French Revolution, the jousts resumed in 1806. The local festival quickly grew in scale, and by the 19th century, it had expanded to include nautical parades, concerts, and swimming races across Sète.
Languedoc Jousting
Dressed in white and equipped with a lance and a shield (pavois), the jousters face off from boats crossing paths on the Canal Royal, in the heart of the city, on a stretch known as the Cadre Royal. This championship, unique in France, features over thirty tournaments, ranging from the youngest jousters to the most experienced. The winner of the Grand Prix has his name engraved for eternity on a shield displayed in the jousting hall of the Musée de la Mer. The protocol has remained unchanged for centuries: the dance of the boats to the tune of La Louise, the jousters' salute, and then La Charge, a heroic piece from the Sète repertoire played during the pass.
Parades, music, and entertainment
The week is punctuated by parades of jousters accompanied by oboes and drums, morning serenades, the Sunday High Mass, official ceremonies, street performances, quayside bars, and free concerts held every evening at La Placette (Place Léon-Blum) and the Esplanade (Place Aristide-Briand). In addition to the jousting, there are numerous sporting and traditional events: the Sète swimming crossing, the rowing Grand Prix, the Vire-Vire with lateen-rigged boats, boules tournaments, tennis matches, and barrel rolling.
The Heavyweight Tournament, the grand finale
Generations compete throughout the week, leading up to the highlight: the heavyweight tournament on Monday, where the winner of the Saint-Louis is crowned. Broadcast on a giant screen and streamed live on the City of Sète's website, it takes place before a packed Cadre Royal. It is an experience to be had at least once in a lifetime.
Where does it take place — Fêtes de la Saint-Louis
Fêtes de la Saint-Louis in brief
History of Fêtes de la Saint-Louis
Edition 2025 Aug 2025Other festivals near Sète
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