Avignon Festival Grapples with Rising Heat Amid Southern France’s Sweltering Summers

Last week, as an intense heat wave swept across Europe, cultural events pressed forward despite soaring temperatures. The Avignon Festival, one of the continent’s premier theater events, was preparing to open just days away. Even with temperatures soaring to 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), many of the festival’s primarily outdoor venues required ongoing setup.

“We adapted within half a day,” explained Eve Lombart, the festival’s general administrator since 2019. To cope with the heat, technicians constructing stages and sets modified their work schedules, taking extended afternoon breaks and starting as early as 6 a.m. across the festival’s 40 venues.

These rapid changes stem from years of strategic planning aimed at adjusting the festival’s operations to the realities of climate change, Lombart added.

For Avignon and similar events in southern France, the rise in summer temperatures has become a critical concern. Days exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit are increasingly common, impacting both the audience’s comfort and the well-being of workers. While most indoor venues have been outfitted with air conditioning—a feature less prevalent across Europe—festivalgoers often move between multiple shows throughout the day, usually walking outside.

Florent Masse, a Princeton University professor and director of the Princeton French Theater Festival, noted a stark deterioration in conditions since his first visit to Avignon in 2002. He described the 30-minute walk back to the city center from La Fabrica, a suburban venue, on opening day this year as especially taxing due to the heat.