Red and black outfits are required. Archives Nicolas Mollo / SO
The rich program of Luzian celebrations, freshly unveiled, will experience several highlights in this sense. Thursday, June 18, the Nature Theater of Ducontenia Park will host the Burrunka company and its show “Lurraren Zainak” (9:15 p.m.). “The idea was to have a proposal that brings together several arts.” Here, drums, gaitas and dances. Sunday, June 21, the Basque group from Guipuzcoa Kilimak will enliven the closing of the festivities, Place Louis-XIV (8:30 p.m.).
In the meantime, more locally unheard musical registers will have been expressed: “This year, we wanted to highlight the oratory arts, slam and rap,” reveals Thomas Ruspil. Thursday June 18, just before Burrunka, the Bayonne collective “Enslamez-vous” will perform on the Ducontenia stage (9 p.m.). Luzian rapper Skyz will warm up the audience at Place Louis-XIV before Kilimak’s performance (7:45 p.m.).
Wrek Friday night
Its energetic riffs had already slammed on the stage of the Holiday Musical Springboard in mid-April. However, he had to lose during this competition to promote emerging talents, facing the punk rock of the trio Wrek. The three mischievous Luzian friends have promised to set Midsummer’s Day on fire with music. They will have the opportunity on Friday June 19, from 10 p.m., Place Louis-XIV. Many other musical tapas will be enjoyed over these four and a half days, concerts, balls, bandas, txarangas, etc.
The three Luzian friends from the punk rock band Wrek. Alain Cazenave
The traditional events are repeated, from the children’s tamborrada accompanied by the Kaskarot Banda on Friday (6:30 p.m.) to the mascleta on Sunday (9:15 p.m.). Two toros de fuego are planned (Friday, 10:30 p.m. and Saturday midnight), in addition to tortilla competitions (Saturday, 12 p.m., Place Louis-XIV) and fandango (Saturday, 6 p.m. at Les Halles), constant masses (Sunday, 10 a.m.) and rebot game (Sunday, 10:30 a.m.) and even mutxiko announced by Begiraleak (Sunday, 12 p.m., Place Louis-XIV).
The official kick-off will be given on Friday at 7 p.m. from the town hall. “Three schoolchildren from Urdazuri, ikastola and Urquijo will sing a verse in Basque from the bertsu of Xanpun on the balcony. It has become a ritual,” says Thomas Ruspil.
Not the little Bayonne Festivals
The codes of a celebration “with a local and multi-generational character” are fulfilled and should once again attract crowds. Sentimental crowds of an authenticity sometimes judged to be in decline on the north coast. At the risk of a slide towards overcrowding? We are not there yet, but the organizers are trying to guard against this pitfall: “There is no desire among us to make the festival grow and become a small Bayonne Festival. We cannot accommodate so many people and we would lose our identity. We are not overly developed in terms of communication on social networks, we remain quite sober,” says Thomas Ruspil.
The traditional tortilla competition will take place on Saturday June 20 at 12 p.m., Place Louis-XIV. Archives Nicolas Mollo / SO 
Around 50,000 people walked the streets of downtown Luzien on Saturday last year, agreeing to unveil the chosen one. How many partygoers among them? This first telephone boundary deserves to be refined. He still encourages the organizers to make some adaptations: “We take into account the crowds, for example with the pedestrianization of the Halles from 7:30 a.m. on Fridays and the resizing of the first aid station, in the Lebout car park.”
A battery of preventive measures accompanies it, including a stand against sexist and sexual violence at the entrance to Place Louis-XIV (Friday, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.), the renewal of the Angela system for victims of harassment or assault, as well as the Talaia refuge cabin for middle and high school students, set up by parents of students.
They support the joint campaign of the City and the CCAS “Yes to respect”: “We want to say that violence has no place in the festivals, such as we claim them and such as we experience them,” warns Thomas Ruspil.
