Relevance to the Theme of the Module
Avignon Festival is a prime example of valorization of cultural heritage. By creating a festival dedicated to performing arts, 120000 people can benefit each year from the UNESCO World Heritage of the city of Avignon. This project aligns with the module’s focus on the role of creative industries in touristic attractivity and heritage valorization. Moreover, the Festival leads an experimentation for durable mobilities.
Presentation
The Avignon Festival, founded in 1947, is the largest theater and live performance event in the world, both in terms of the number of productions and the number of spectators. The courtyard of the Palais des Papes is the main place of the festival, but more than 30 locations hosts the Festival throughout the city, and surrounding sites, including structures, gymnasiums, cloisters, chapels, gardens, quarries, and churches.
Because the movement of audiences remains the greatest impact on the carbon footprint of cultural events, Avignon Festival started in 2024 with three partners (Avignon Off, Cofees, Resonance) and the Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur an experimentation for sustainable mobilities: by offering specific schedules of trains at night from the city of Avignon to other cities, the public attending festivals in the area is encouraged to travel by train after the performances instead of taking individual cars. Morevover, artists and theater companies from two other regions in France (Ile de France, Haut de France) can benefit from mutualized and specific trains to Avignon to carry their theater sets.
Enhancing Cultural Tourism and Cultural preservation: By highlighting significant architectural sites, the Festival aims to attract tourists and locals, thereby boosting the regional economy.
Economic Benefits: The Festival contributes to the local economy by attracting visitors and promoting cultural tourism also in the year.
Environnemental issues: by developing a new offer on trains, the Festival in partnership with cultural partners and the Region helps public audiences and artists to decrease the carbon footprint.
Collaborative Model: The emphasis on partnerships between local authorities, cultural organizations, and non-cultural organizations (transports) can be replicated to ensure broad-based support and sustainability.
Outcomes, Results, and Impacts
The Avignon Festival has achieved significant outcomes:
120 000 tickets in 2025
291 performances
300 readings, debates, meetings, screenings
16 countries represented in the programme
Parity in the programme: 22 women et 22 men
40 sites, 20 in Avignon city, 20 extra-muros
Due to the new transport proposal: 2025 150000km saved in 2025, 80 theater compagnies beneficiaries.
Every euro of public subsidy received by the Avignon Festival is multiplied by six in economic benefits for the region.
Employment: 34 permanent employees, 751 non permanent employees + 600 artists and technicians
Potential for Replication in Other Regions
Avignon Festival offers a great model for other regions aiming to promote their architectural heritage as well as new commitment for environmental issues.
Scalability: The concept can be adapted to different scales, from small towns to large areas, from local to international events.