THE Fête de la Musique, also known as the worldwide celebration of music, is an annual music festival taking place on June 21 in cities around the world. It was created by the French Minister of Culture, Jack Lang.
In October 1981, Maurice Fleuret became Director of Music and Dance Monsieur Lang’s request and looked into musical practice among the general public When he discovered, in a 1982 study on the cultural habits of the French, that five million people played a musical instrument, he began to dream of a way to bring people out on the streets. It first took place in 1982 in Paris as the Fête de la Musique.
The festival has become an international phenomenon, celebrated on the same day in more than 460 cities in 110 countries, including Germany, Italy, Egypt, Syria, Morocco, South Africa, Australia, Vietnam, Congo, Cameroon, Mauritius, Fiji, Colombia, Chile, Nepal, and Japan.
Its purpose is promote music in two ways. Amateur and professional musicians are encouraged to perform in the streets. The slogan faites de la musique (make music), a homophone of Fête de la Musique, is used to promote this goal.
Many free concerts are organised, making all genres of music accessible to the public. Two of the caveats to being sanctioned by the official Fête de la Musique organisation in Paris are that all concerts must be free to the public and all performers donate their time free of charge. This is true of most participating cities, now, as well.
(Information from Wikipedia)
