Circus, dance, theater, wanderings, music… Viva Cité, one of the most important street arts festivals in Europe, returns to Sotteville-lès-Rouen from Friday June 26 to Sunday June 28, for its 37e edition. This festive event is co-created by the Sotteville municipality and L’Atelier 231, one of the 13 National Centers for Street Arts and Public Space (CNAREP) in France.
A festival based on the theme of the energy of the link
300 professional artists are expected throughout the weekend with, on the program, 200 performances based on the theme of the energy of connection. “The artists have written stories that speak of the world with great poetry and sensitivity, says Anne Le Goff, artistic director of the Viva Cité festival and director of Atelier 231. CSome talk about the climate crisis or the economic crisis, but always with the desire to imagine a better world for tomorrow.” For this new edition, the program brings together several new features, “with new audiences but also new places”, explains Anne Le Goff. Viva Cité has 35 different performance spaces throughout the city, from the Trianon Transatlantique performance hall to Atelier 231, including the Bois de la Garenne.
“A dozen performances that have never been front views”
This year, the festival is taking over an original play space: the Les Bruyères high school. The students of the theater option of the Marcel Sembat and Les Bruyères high schools will perform a one-hour show freely inspired by the novel His Majesty of the Fliesby William Golding, Friday June 26 at 7:45 p.m. at Atelier 231. To prepare this play, they were supervised by their teachers and the collective In Itinere. “It is a festival of creation with around ten performances which have never been front views”adds the director of the event.
An unmissable event
For this 37e edition, more than 100,000 people are expected. “It is possible to come at the time you want and with whom you want: with friends or family, says Anne Le Goff. Everyone can have their own festival.” On site, around twenty social places are also planned, such as food trucks and bars.
And for those who wish to listen to the concerts late in the evening, this will be possible since the last buses and metros will stop at 1:30 a.m. Transport will be free across the entire Astuce network, Saturday June 27 and exceptionally Sunday June 28.
Practical. You will find all the details of the program on the website of the City of Sotteville-lès-Rouen.
