The (French), (Breton) or Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient in English, is an annual Celtic festival, located in the city of Lorient, Brittany, France. It was founded in 1971 by .
This annual festival takes place in the heart of the city every August and is dedicated to the cultural traditions of the Celtic nations ( in French), highlighting Celtic music and dance and also including other arts such as painting, photography, theatre, sculpture, traditional artisanry as well as sport and gastronomy.
Participants come from Brittany, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, Cumbria, the Isle of Man, Cape Breton Island, Galicia, Asturias, Acadia, and the entire Celtic diaspora.
The main festival sites are located throughout the city, with more formal events taking place at the , or . The larger events take place at the (the home of FC Lorient which can hold up to spectators), the or in grand marquees.
The festival begins with the (fr) or (br), a traditional Breton seafood supper, which takes place in the (fr) or (br) harbour district accompanied by sea shanties and traditional Breton marine music.
On Sunday morning the Grand Parade of Celtic Nations takes place with over musicians, singers, pipebands and dancers from all over the Celtic world parading through the city streets in national costume.
The finals of the National Bagadoù Championship takes place at the during the first weekend of the festival. In addition individual competitions take place for pipers.
There are demonstrations and tournaments in celtic wrestling (Gouren, Cornish wrestling and Scottish backhold) with representatives from the Celtic nations taking part.
Master classes take place each morning. Afternoon events include folk and traditional music concerts and dance displays. Evening events include orchestral concerts, rock concerts and , displays of pipe bands, dancers, choirs and fireworks.
Throughout the festival the (fr) or (br) is open in the centre of the city offering food, music and literature, clothing and crafts.
On the final Saturday of the festival folk and rock musicians perform at the fishing harbour for the .
There is also much activity on the festival fringe, with musicians giving free performances in many of the cityâÂÂs bars and pubs every evening until late.
The festival also hosts Grande Parade des Nations Celtes, a parade that marches through the streets of the Lorient while the participants play instruments and wear their cultural attire.
The festival organisers have more recently embarked on similar ventures such as the St Patrick's Day concert in Paris, France, which attracts a crowd of spectators and the Celtica concert in Nantes, Brittany.