my-server
← Wiki

Caribana Festival (Switzerland)

The Caribana Festival is an annual musical festival taking place over four days in June in Crans, Vaud, Switzerland near Lake Léman. Originally a free, local festival that attracted 2,000 in its inaugural year, the event boasted 30,500 attendees in 2022. Caribana showcases a wide range of music genres under banners of the pop, rock, electro, and rap. International artists who have performed at the festival include Moby, Jessie J, Maroon 5, MIKA, and Evanescence.

History

In May 1983, Nyon hosted a Caribbean Festival, which inspired attendee Tony Lerch to hold a similar event in 1988. Two years later, he and his friends kicked off the inaugural Caribana Festival at the Nautique Club in Crans. The event was organized on a budget of CHF50,000 and attracted 2,000 people over three nights of music. The original event, free to all attendees, focused on Caribbean music and later African music and reggae. The event expanded over the years to include a wider range of genres including pop, rock, electro, and rap.

By 1995, the festival had grown enough in attendance that the organizers were forced to relocate away from the ports at Crans. Still on the lake, but with more space, they were able to open an additional stage, the Lake Stage. This was followed by the Beach Stage, added in 2010, and a private terrace first trialed in 2015 and introduced in 2016. Caribana expanded its offerings from a three-day schedule to a four-day schedule in 2005. In 2013, they introduced Caribateens, a concert on the final day of the festival meant to showcase young, local bands. A Super Smash Bros. tournament, inspired by esports, was planned in 2020 and kicked off in 2022. In 2024, financial troubles forced the festival to move from a volunteer-based model to one managed under Caribana Productions, a public limited company. Caribana founder Tony Lerch remained part of the team.

The event exceeded 20,000 attendees in 2002 and was reported at 32,000 in 2010. Twenty-nine thousand attended the festival in 2019 before Caribana was cancelled for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the reopening drew 30,500 people.

Caribana, trente ans les pieds dans l'eau, a book chronicling Caribana's legacy, was published by La Côte journalist Rodolph Haener in 2020.

Lineups

1990s

1990
  • 1-3 June: Patrick Chambaz, Manix Band, Sun Set Band, and The Gang
1991

The Caribana committee organized Switzerland's 700th anniversary in Crans-près-Céligny.

1992
  • 12 June: No Comment and Sakaryn
  • 13 June: Hot Bananas Ladies, Mauro Sabbioni, Of Inimiura, Sa-Kaïl, and The Hedgehogs
  • 14 June: Early Morning, Hinterland and Paradox
1993
  • 11 June: Arnold the Pig and Totem
  • 12 June: C-45, Pacemaker, and Woo Loo Moo Loo
  • 13 June: Luka Bloom, Abdul Corr's Saraba, and
1994
  • 17 June: Barking Dogs and Peeping Tom
  • 18 June: , , and The Ventilators
  • 19 June: Metro, Mory Kanté, and The Shoulders
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

2000s

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009

2010s

2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019

2020s

2020

Caribana 2020 was originally scheduled 16-20 June and the schedule was released, but the festival was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2021

Cancelled due to continued COVID precautions and rescheduled for 2022.

2022
2023
2024
2025
2026

Caribana 2026 is scheduled for 17-20 June.

References