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Dancing in the streets in Vienna

Vienna’s Babenburgerstrasse in the first district is hosting the city's first Streetlife Festival this weekend - September 13th and 14th - with more than 50 attractions and events to enjoy.

Published: 12 September 2014 14:30 CEST

Dancing in the streets in Vienna

View of Babenbergerstrasse. Photo: Christian Bauer

Highlights include urban knitting and urban gardening, a guided tour through the Kunstmuseum Wien's exhibition, a silly walk contest inspired by Monty Python, dance and karaoke sessions and performances by buskers, and a bike show with Red Bull rider Tom Öhler – the only thing that might be missing is some sunshine.

Deputy mayor Maria Vassilakou said that the aim is to turn the area around the Babenburgerstrasse and the Mariahilfer Strasse into "a giant fairground and living room".

"We want to send a positive message at the beginning of European Mobility Week and also kick of the 'Vienna on Foot' campaign which aims to get everyone in the city walking when possible," she added. Festival organisers are urging people to arrive on foot, by bike, or public transport rather than using their cars.

Things will kick off at 10am and entry to all events is free. For more details go to the streetlife festival website.

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France's Fête de la musique 'will go ahead, with masks and a curfew'

Photo: ABDULMONAM EASSA / AFP

Culture minister Roselyn Bachelot, taking part in a Q&A session with readers of French newspaper le Parisien, confirmed that the annual summer festival will go ahead this year on its usual date of June 21st.

The festival date is normally marked with thousands of events across France, from concerts in tiny villages to huge open-air events in big cities and street-corner gigs in local neighbourhoods.

Last year the festival did go ahead, in a scaled-down way, and Bachelot confirmed that the 2021 event will also happen, but with restrictions.

She said: “It will be held on 21st June and will not be subject to the health passport.

“People will be able to dance, but it will be a masked party with an 11pm curfew.”

Under France’s phased reopening plan, larger events will be allowed again from June 9th, but some of them will require a health passport (with either a vaccination certificate or a recent negative test) to enter.

The Fête de la musique, however, is generally focused around lots of smaller neighbourhood concerts.

The curfew is being gradually moved back throughout the summer before – if the health situation permits – being scrapped entirely on June 30th.

Bachelot added: “I appeal to everyone’s responsibility.

“The rate of 50 percent of people vaccinated should have been reached by then, so we will reach an important level of immunity.”

The Fête de la musique is normally France’s biggest street party, with up to 18,000 events taking place across the country on the same day.

It’s hugely popular, despite being (whisper it) the idea of an American – the concept is the brainchild of American Joel Cohen, when he was working as a music producer for French National Radio (France Musique) in the 1970s.

By 1982 the French government put its weight behind the idea and made it an official event and it’s been a fixture in the calendar ever since.

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