Interesting Facts about Fête de la Musique, an Annual Music Celebration

Fête de la Musique, a significant festival of music that resonates with people around the world, is the subject of today’s Google Doodle. Every year on June 21, the Fête de la Musique—also referred to as Music Day, Make Music Day, or World Music Day in English—celebrates music.

France observes June 21st as Fête de la Musique, or World Music Day. The festival, which is in its 43rd year, continues to attract thousands of people who come together to celebrate their mutual love of music in over 1,000 cities around the world.

Fête de la Musique, sometimes called World Music Day or Make Music Day, was established by the French Ministry of Culture in 1982 and is currently observed by millions of people in more than 100 countries across five continents. Every year on June 21, the Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice, the event takes place. Together, light, music, renewal, and joy are symbolically brought about by this day and festival.

Every year, amateur and professional artists alike fill streets, parks, and other public spaces with free concerts of all genres, from jazz and classical to rock, reggae, rap, and electronic music. This event makes music available to everyone.

Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the lively spirit of Fête de la Musique!

15 Interesting Facts about Fête de la Musique

1. Residents and citizens are encouraged to perform outside in parks, public areas, and their neighborhoods on Music Day. Additionally, there are free concerts when musicians perform for enjoyment rather than compensation.
2. Maurice Fleuret and Jack Lang, then Minister of Culture of France, organized the first all-day musical event on the day of the summer solstice, which took place in Paris in 1982. Later, Music Day was observed in 120 countries around the world.
3. Maurice Fleuret was appointed Director of Music and Dance at the French Ministry of Culture in October 1981, at the request of Jack Lang. He extended his views to the progress of musical practice: “the music everywhere and the concert nowhere”.
4. In a 1982 study on French cultural customs, he found that one in two young people, or five million people, played a musical instrument. This led him to consider ways to get people out on the streets. Originally known as the Fête de la Musique, it was held in Paris in 1982.
5. Since then, the festival has been staged on the same day in over 700 cities in 120 countries, including India, Germany, Italy, Greece, Russia, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, making it a global phenomenon.
6. The day is currently known as World Music Day, Make Music Day, and Music Day in the Anglosphere.
7. Fête de la Musique seeks to promote music. The motto “Faites de la musique” (“Make music”), which is a homophone for “Fête de la musique,” encourages both professional and amateur musicians to perform on the streets.
8. Because of the thousands of free concerts presented throughout the day, the public can enjoy music from any genre. Every performance in France must be free to the general public, and all artists generously give of their time. This is also true for the majority of participating cities.
9. As of 2019, Fête de la Musique was taking place in 120 countries, with over 1,000 cities participating globally.
10. National Music Day was originally introduced in the United Kingdom in 1992. Make Music Day UK became independent in 2022.
11. In 2014, the Make Music Alliance was founded in the United States to help coordinate activities around the country. In 2023, 117 U.S. cities hosted 4,791 free concerts, including more than 100 in Cincinnati, Madison, New York City, Philadelphia, and Salem.
12. The Australian Music Association (AMA) invented Make Music Day Australia in 2018, and the event will be co-hosted by the AMA and the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) commencing in 2022.
13. To celebrate Make Music Day, ten Australian schools collaborated with schools around the world as part of the large global initiative “Make Music, Make Friends” in 2023.
14. In 2022, the first Make Music Days were conducted in Ghana and Turkey, and 2023, in South Africa.
15. On June 21, 2025, Google featured Doodle on its homepage for celebrating La Fête de la Musique.