French Spring Festival announces International Music Day on 24 June

• A live music concert at the Sri Lankan Foundation with French singer Léa Paci gracing as the guest of honour and Sri Lankan bands The Soul, Radiesha and Tha Youngest

The French Spring Festival has announced International Music Day on 24 June offering a whole day dedicated to French and Sri Lankan music with a program in two stages.

One will be an open mic at the Alliance Française of Colombo in the afternoon (from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.) and a live music concert at the Sri Lankan Foundation Institute in the evening (6 p.m. onwards), with Sri Lankan bands and a French singer specially invited for the occasion: Léa Paci. Admission free. For the detailed program please log into its social media pages and website.  

International Music Day, or Fête de la Musique, is celebrated every year on 21 June. The first International Music Day was observed in the year 1982 in France when people were urged to play music outdoors to participate in festivities. Since then, International Music Day has spread to other parts of the world and is now a global celebration of music. International Music Day is organised within the framework of the French Spring Festival organised every year by the French Embassy in Sri Lanka and Maldives together with the Alliance Française network in Sri Lanka and Maldives, with the support of sponsors and official partners (for the detailed list, please log into our social media pages and website.

One of the biggest cultural expositions in the country, the French Spring Festival will be held from 24 June to 13 July.

It will be the 11th edition of the popular festival organised by the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the Maldives and the network of Alliances Francaises in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

This year’s festival will be in full-fledged format, making a comeback after 2019 since latter years were impacted due to COVID and the economic crisis.

The 2023 festival also coincides with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and France.

On 5 July, the festival’s photographic exhibition titled ‘Celebrate’ will be held showcasing the works of the winners of the photography contest at the Alliance Française of Kotte in Colombo. The photographers will share their vision of the theme chosen. The exhibition will be held at Alliances francaises of Matara and Kandy as well.

From 6 to 9 July, there will be a French Film Festival showcasing six French movies by the National Film Corporation. The movies range from comedy and thriller to documentary and animation. One of the flagship movies is the talented director Cedric Klapish’s new movie En Corps (Rise), released in March last year. It is a heart-warming and inspiring story that tells about resilience and healing.