Founded in Paris in 1982, the Festival of Music immediately became a popular event in France. Each year, on 21st June – the first day of summer – French city streets are filled with musicians, dancers and music enthusiasts. Now, over 350 cities across the world participate in this annual event. On this day, all musicians, professional and amateur, young and old, share their passion for music with the public.

The Festival of Music is a well-known event with a strong tradition, which is why, this year, it was exported to Shanghai for the 2010 World Expo, being held between 1st May and 31st October 2010, which has already had 17,000,000 visitors. Concerts and musical events were performed on open-air stages throughout the city of Shanghai by groups, ensembles and choirs, professional and amateur, renowned and up-and-coming and of all nationalities and all styles. Many concert halls, discos and schools opened up their doors for this Festival to celebrate music in all its forms.

On this occasion, the Concert Spirituel, supported by the BNP Paribas Foundation, made its debut in China with its production “Fireworks & Water Music”. Today, it is one of the most respected ensembles for its interpretation of Baroque music using antiquated instruments, collaborating closely with the Versailles Centre for Baroque Music.

The Festival of Music coincided with the events held for French National Day on 21st June in Shanghai, a programme which included various French cultural initiatives: “Douce France”, a multimedia show of French songs with actor Alain Delon, patron of the French Pavilion, and the singer Nathalie Lhermitte, accompanied by Aurélien Noël; and an amazing concert by rock star Mathieu Chedid, also known as “M”.

The French Pavilion offers a rich cultural programme, including the main attraction of 7 masterpieces lent by the Musée d’Orsay in an unprecedented gesture, for the entire duration of the Expo 2010 (Van Gogh, Bonnard, Millet, Gauguin, Cézanne, Manet and Rodin). Other French artistic contributions exhibited on the Expo site in Shanghai include works by the French sculptors Rachid Khimoune and Jean-Marie Fiori, and the monumental sculptures from the great Art for the World exhibition.