Free preview for the region

  • Free preview

FRIDAY 4 JULY 2025

On Friday 4 July, enjoy an exceptional evening dedicated to the audiences of Avignon and the surrounding area. 
The Festival d'Avignon is inviting local residents, educational, social and medico-social organisations and the Festival d'Avignon's year-round partners to a unique, free evening.

7pm → Participatory performance They Always Come Back by Bouchra Ouizguen with local amateurs, Place du Palais des Papes (free admission)
10pm → Creation NÔT by Marlene Monteiro Freitas in the Cour d'Honneur of the Palais des Papes



Free tickets available from 10am on Wednesday 25 June at the Saint-Louis cloister box office. Subject to availability and 4 tickets per person.

Palais des papes © Christophe Raynaud de Lage / Festival d'Avignon

A festive kick-off before the official opening on 5 July

The Festival d'Avignon 2025 kicks off in style with an exceptional preview on Friday 4 July, entirely dedicated to local audiences. This initiative testifies to the Festival's commitment to its region and its residents throughout the year.

"The Festival d'Avignon belongs to the world in July; it belongs to its region all year round". - Tiago Rodrigues, Director of the Festival d'Avignon

The evening will open at 7pm with They Always Come Back, a participatory performance by dancer and choreographer Bouchra Ouizguen. This original creation, developed in collaboration with local amateurs, explores universal themes such as otherness, the strangeness that inhabits us and the bonds that unite us.

The evening will culminate in a free performance of NÔT by Marlene Monteiro Freitas at 10pm in the Cour d'Honneur of the Palais des Papes. This new work by the Cape Verdean artist reinvents the figure of Scheherazade through the tales of the Thousand and One Nights, using choreography to translate the infinite flow of words that are generated and transformed.

Free tickets for NÔT will be available from Wednesday 25 June from the box office at the Cloître Saint-Louis, with a limit of 4 tickets per person.