Festivals and cultural events Geneva

The city is decked out in light for the Geneva Lux festival. Initiated by the City of Geneva and orchestrated by Artistic Director François Moncarey, each year twenty-five works of art enhance the city's districts with art and light. This contemporary artistic dimension can be discovered after nightfall: mapping on facades, technical and aesthetic works that awaken the senses. The festival's originality and quality make it a real hit. Guided tours are available to discover the world of the artists in detail.

The Bâtie-Festival in Geneva is the cultural event of the new school year. More than 30,000 festival-goers! Each year, the programme offers 16 days of quality shows in several venues in Geneva, its communes, neighbouring France and the canton of Vaud. An eclectic panel of scenic art and innovative performances. It is here that we discover the first artists from the international performing arts scene. A great success at each edition.

Various concerts organized and offered by the AMR (Association for the encouragement of improvised music). The association, made up of musicians from Geneva, was founded in 1973 with the aim of working collectively on improvised music, promoting it and teaching it: these are the Ateliers de l'AMR, which were officially founded in 1975. During several periods of the year, music is joyfully enjoyed in the open air at the Parc des Cropettes located just behind the Cornavin train station or at the Orangerie in the Parc de la Grange. The AMR takes place in the Parc des Cropettes at the end of June. On the program: jazz and Afro-American music.

Voix de Fête is, in two words, the celebration of the musical francophonie. A breeding ground of artists from the world of music takes over the city for a week and performs in some fifteen venues. The Association de soutien à la musique vivante (ASMV) organises the concerts and events. A musical diversity that highlights the trends and innovations of Francophone artists. A very extensive programme of concerts of all styles, which appeals to all audiences, with approximately 15,000 spectators each year. It is a popular event.

The Archipel Festival offers contemporary music programmed in various venues dedicated to music: Conservatory, radio, theater, Victoria Hall... Since 1989 and every year, Archipel follows the evolution of contemporary music. This festival is interested in all forms of musical creation: scenic and multimedia works, improvisation, electro-acoustic music and sound installations. Archipel attracts a growing international and intergenerational audience.

A fine initiative where the inhabitants of Geneva take the reins of the animation of their district. They are entrusted with the keys to the public space for the setting up of a popular festival where the aim is to bring people together and create proximity between neighbours. This citizen dynamic gives rise to a convivial entertainment with magic shows, concerts, creative workshops, etc. The whole neighbourhood is mobilized and of course invites passers-by and travellers to discover their program. Good moments of sharing and local encounters!

Heading for South American culture with this festival which succeeds every year in the challenge of making Latin American cinema discoverable, put forward during more than two weeks in various places in French-speaking Switzerland and neighbouring France. The main screenings take place in Geneva cinemas such as the Cinéma Grütli, Cinéma Bio in Carouge.... A programme with the discovery of independent authors as well as committed films and documentaries highlighting human rights.

The 7th art holds a beautiful place in Geneva, that of bringing together all the professionals of the moment. This atypical festival of international renown unites cinema, television and new forms of digital creations. Audiovisual art in all its splendour ensures you during a week of discoveries and sensory experimentation. The often professional festival-goers are projected in a universe that can be fantastic, playful, dreamlike by the 3D projections in which they become actors. A plunge and a total immersion in visual creativity and the first to discover short films in preview. Meetings with professionals, filmmakers and new talents await audiovisual enthusiasts at the Tous Écrans Festival. A technological and above all an artistic escape.

Geneva's music festival goes beyond boundaries. It is the event of Grand-Geneva for which makes every one travels as the programme is rich! The Music Festival is a real institution and an event which makes Geneva move. Organised by the town and the Culture department, this great popular festival gathers all the generations who have come to share a moment around world music. Hundreds of concert of every style and for every one are organised in the streets of Geneva, near the harbour in various places, from the simplest to the most prestigious ones during 3 days full of emotions on the two banks with numerous events and musical animations. The atmosphere is unparalleled. You can eat everywhere at stands of the Village of associations (profits going to cultural, social, educational and humanitarian works), with specialities from across the world. This event forms part of sustainable development and actions are set including waste management with drink pumps and eco-friendly flasks; cups are prohibited.

Popular, convivial, cheerful and familial, the fanfares remind us of beautiful ceremonies, large gatherings, processions and parades. Organized by several entities, during the second half of the month, Mai en Fanfares offers a multiple programme of concerts in different places in the city and wandering onto the streets. It is possible for walkers, lovers of popular or scholarly music, to listen to two or even three concerts held by different musical groups in the evening, the same day, at the same place.