Chamonix: Fête de la Musique takes places 21 June 2020

The Fête de la Musique [translation: Music Festival] is an extraordinary celebration taking place every summer solstice (21 June) all over France.

What differs this festival from other music festivals is that all concerts are free of charge and none of the artists is paid.

Since its first edition in 1982, the Fête de la Musique has quickly grown in popularity. Today, the festival is celebrated in over 120 countries, and it is commonly known as World Music Day.

Fête de la Musique Chamonix 2020

It is now official: there will be a Fête de la Musique in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in 2020.

The town hall has decided to make public space available to musicians in front of the bars and restaurants in the city centre. Four zones have been demarcated: Place Edmond Desailloud, Place Balmat, Avenue de la Gare / Avenue Michel Croz and Rue des Moulins.

However, strict regulations were set by the French Ministry of Culture:

• Concerts can be held in places authorized to welcome the public in compliance with the health rules under the responsibility of the leader of the place and in the open air under the responsibility of an organizer with respect of the physical distance in places for attaching a gauge, taking care not to create a crowd nearby.
• As gatherings of more than 10 people are always forbidden in the public domain, spontaneous concerts are not allowed. However, demonstrations on the public road can be subject to a derogatory regime. This requires prior authorization from the prefect of the department, in conjunction with the mayor, after declaration by the organizer for gatherings of more than 10 people as long as the conditions of the organization allow to guarantee the respect of the sanitary constraints. For the Mayors who would like it, this provision allows them to organize, in close collaboration with the Prefect, highly supervised events on the public road as long as the respect of health constraints can be guaranteed.

For bars & restaurants, customers must remain seated at their table and they will have to wear a mask as soon as they get up. There will be no counter service, as waiters will come to the customers.

Security guards will be mobilized to ensure compliance with its rules until the end of the event, at 2 a.m. The municipal police and the gendarmerie will also be present.

Sources @Radio Mont-Blanc, Ministry of Culture.