Bastille Festival Sydney 2025: what is it, when is it and what’s on?

Sydney’s iconic French festival returns this week, bringing four days of food, wine and art to Circular Quay. It’s free to attend and we have the full Bastille Festival 2025 program here, for you to plan your visit.

Swap your winter blues for bleu, blanc et rouge this weekend, as Bastille Festival returns for its 12th year. Bringing a slice of France to Circular Quay, lovers of raclette, rosé, cinema and cabaret, this one’s for you. It’s now one of Sydney’s favourite winter festivals, drawing hundreds of thousands of Francophiles, foodies and fun-seekers every year.

“This 12th edition is all about going bigger, bolder and more immersive,” says Festival Director Vincent Hernandez. “It’s our most ambitious ‘Tour de France’ yet.” In fact, it’s so popular that the festival expanded to Adelaide for the first time (from May 30–June 1).

Whether you’re here for the Champagne and crêpes, the open-air French cinema, or the late-night cabaret under the stars, Bastille Festival 2025 is your passport to all things French. No boarding pass required.

What is Bastille Festival?

The largest French festival outside of France, that’s what! In France, Bastille Day (or le 14 Juillet or la fête nationale) marks the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, a major event of the French Revolution, and the unifiction of the French people on the same day the following year.

Celebrations take place across France, and Sydney joined in on the action in 2013. Back then, it was known as the Bleu Blanc Rouge Festival, but now it’s Bastille Festival.

For four days, Circular Quay is transformed with French food stalls, roving entertainers, live concerts, dance classes and much more. An estimated 600,000 people visited last year’s festival – don’t miss out on the fun this year. Bon temps!

The complete program

Bastille Wine Walk

No celebration of France would complete without wine. This year’s program is the most extensive yet, with eight iconic wine regions represented. Bordeaux, Burgundy, Alsace, Beaujolais, Provence, Languedoc, Loire Valley and Rhône Valley will each offer a curated selection of four wines, from boutique French wineries to prestigious châteaux.

The best way to experience it? Purchase a Bastille Wine Passport, which grants you fast-track queuing at stalls – as waiting is très unchic. Passports cost $39 for four stops, or $69 for eight stops.

At each stop on your tasting journey, expert sommeliers and festival staff will guide you through the flavours, aromas and stories behind each wine. After they’ve stamped your passport, take your reusable tasting glass to the next location.

Champagne will also take centre stage at this year’s event, with pop-up stations throughout the festival and two distinctive wine bars offering Champagne with oysters and seafood.

Not a wine or Champagne drinker? More than 18 bars will be dotted around Circular Quay and The Rocks, so you’re bound to find something amongst the mulled wine, spiced hot cider, beer bars and cocktail stations to keep the winter chill at bay.

French feasting

More than 120 vendors will be serving over 80 dishes all weekend long. Tuck into timeless regional dishes, sweet treats and inventive fusions. There will be crowd-pleasers like raclette, escargots, crêpes and macarons, as well as exclusive chef collaborations and international flavours with a French twist.

Food is at the heart of French culture, and it’s at the heart of Bastille Festival too. We want every bite to transport you – whether it’s through a traditional regional speciality or a creative new fusion you’ve never tried before.

— Vincent Hernandez, founder and festival director

Taste your way through the festival and French culture, while embracing joie de vivre!

Open-air Fire Pit Cinema

Australia’s first Firepit Cinema landed in Circular Quay for the Christmas in July celebrations, and the big screen will be given a French makeover for Bastille Festival. Tickets are selling out fast, so move quickly, but these are the French-inspired films playing:

• Mrs Harris Goes to Paris – Thursday, July 17 at 5pm
• Santa Claus is a Stinker – Friday, July 18 at 2pm
• Amélie Poulain – Friday, July 18 at 5pm
• Midnight in Paris – Friday, July 18 at 8pm
• Ratatouille – Saturday, July 19 at 11am
• French Friend Vacation 2 – Saturday, July 19 at 2pm
• Eiffel – Saturday, July 19 at 5pm
• Moulin Rouge! – Saturday, July 19 at 8pm
• Lost Illusions – Sunday, July 20 at 5pm

Free live performances

Bastille Festival isn’t just a feast for the palate, it’s a feast for the senses. Visitors can enjoy more than 100 free shows, including live concerts, street theatre, dance lessons, fire performances, acrobatic displays and more. Two main stages and a dozen busking spots will keep the harbour alive from morning until late each day.

Festival favourites are back, including the French Cabaret Night at First Fleet Park on Friday and the much-loved French DJ Party on Saturday. Organisers are set to reveal new interactive experiences and surprises in the lead-up to the festival too.

Thursday, July 17

There will be two stages at the festival, the Main Stage at First Fleet Park, and Parisian Stage at Customs House. On the Main Stage on Thursday are performances from: Elizabeth (12pm–12:30pm), Ka-Meï (1pm–2pm), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (2:30pm–4pm) and Ben Blanc de Noir (6pm–7pm).

At the Parisian Stage, you can see Sydney Gypsies (12pm–1pm), Greg Duke (1:30pm–2:30pm), Folie à Deux (3pm–4pm), Paris to Rio Jazz with Annique Azure (4:30pm–5:30pm), Philharmonix (6pm–7:30pm) and The Anna Weaving Collective (8pm–10pm).

On Loftus Street, Sydneysider and singer, Simrita, will perform (6pm–7pm). Fellow Sydney-based singer-songwriter Rudyb will perform his brooding acoustic songs at Tallawoladah Lawns in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art (7:30pm–8:30pm). At Eastern Promenade in Circular Quay, digital artist Yvan FLAME will “paint” creations live (4:30pm–5:30pm).

Friday, July 18

Main Stage performances on Friday include return appearances from Ka-Meï (12pm–1pm), Paris to Rio Jazz – Annique Azure (1:30pm–2:30pm) and Breakfast at Tiffany’s (3pm–4pm) before Fireglow (6pm–8pm) and DJ André x DJ France (8:30pm–11pm) take festivalgoers into the evening.

At the Parisian Stage, Sydney Gypsies (2pm–3pm) return, but there’s an otherwise different schedule for the day. See Miranour (12:30pm–1:30pm), ACCORD-ing To Paolo (3:30pm–4:30pm), Coucou Zazous (5pm–6:30pm) and Christelle N (7pm–9pm).

If you can’t make it on Thursday, you have another chance to see Greg Duke on Friday, except at Tallawoladah Lawns (3pm–4pm). Swing Time will follow with a 60-minute performance from 7:30pm.

Simrita plays at Loftus Street again (7:30pm–8:30pm), while Elizabeth will play there earlier in the afternoon (1:30pm–2:30pm). At Gateway Stage, Yvan FLAME’s digital artistry will impress passersby again (6pm–7pm), and you can see Bowen & Clare from 4:30pm until 5:30pm.

Saturday, July 19

The weekend at the Main Stage looks set to be bold, vibrant and energetic, with performances from: Los Carmonas Flamenco (12pm–1pm), Christelle N (1:30pm–3:30pm), Sydney Samba (4pm–5pm), Empire Dance Studio (6pm–7pm), Fireglow (7:30pm–8:30pm) and Soulganic (9pm–11pm).

At the Parisian Stage, you can see: Noria and the Parisians (12pm–1pm), ACCORD-ing To Paolo (1:30pm–2:30pm), Coucou Zazous (3pm–4:30pm), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (5pm–6pm), Swing Time (6:30pm–7:30pm) and DJ André x DJ France (8pm–11pm).

Outside the MCA, you’ll find Leila (3pm–4pm), Miranour (4:30pm–5:30pm), Simrita (6pm–7pm) and Ka-Meï (7:30pm–8:30pm). Yvan FLAME will be at Loftus Street (4:30pm–5:30pm), Greg Duke will be at the Gateway Stage (3pm–4pm) and Elizabeth will play at Eastern Promenade (1:30pm–2:30pm).

Sunday, July 20

For the final day of celebrations, make sure to spend some time at the Main Stage, where The Owls in the Moss (1:30pm–2:30pm), Capoeria Topazio (3pm–4pm), The Anna Weaving Collective (4:15–5:15pm), Soulganic (5:30pm–6:30pm) and Group Lafaya (7pm–8pm) will all perform.

The Parisian Stage will host Swing Time (1:30pm–2:30pm), Leila (3pm–4pm) and ACCORD-ing To Paolo (4:30pm–5:30pm) before Noria and the Parisians wrap things up (6pm–8pm).

Greg Duke (Loftus Street, 3pm–4pm), Elizabeth (Gateway Stage, 1:30pm–2:30pm) and Simrita (Gateway Stage, 3pm–4pm) will all put on one last show on Sunday too.

Bastille Festival 2025

Dates: Thursday, July 17 until Sunday, July 20. Open daily 10am–11pm.
Where: Circular Quay and The Rocks
Price: Free to visit – refreshments and food and wine experiences vary in price.

For more information visit bastillefestival.com.au