Festival of maritime traditions: five good reasons to head for Escale à Sète

The Belem, magnificent three-masted star of this 2024 edition. Free Midi – PHILIPPE MALRIC

Wolfgang Idiri, directeur et cofondateur d'Escale à Sète. MIDI LIBRE

El Galeon, un habitué de l'événement. Midi Libre – PHILIPPE MALRIC

The Grace returns to show off its yellow hull in the port of Sète. FREE MIDI – Philippe Malric

Half a million people expected for this 8th edition. Midi Libre – VINCENT ANDORRA

They are ready for naval battle… MAXPPP – VINCENT ANDORRA

500,000 people are expected from March 26 to April 1 for this 8th edition which welcomes 120 ships including the famous three-masted Belem. Sea parades, naval battles, musical shows, nautical competitions, workshops, conferences, concerts, gastronomy… Guided tour of a very rich program, often free, with director Wolfgang Idiri.

A few ideas to finally convince you to take a trip to Escale à Sète in a program of immense heritage, gastronomic, cultural and festive wealth. Follow the guide.

It’s the largest gathering in the Mediterranean

Don't look elsewhere, Escale à Sète is "the largest gathering dedicated to the maritime traditions of the Mediterranean, and an exceptional event in Occitania. It is recognized by the patronage of Unesco and receives half a million visitors". Wolfgang Idiri is the stopover director in Sète but also one of the founders fifteen years ago of this biannual meeting. And remains above all a passionate person: "We will find boats typical of traditional Mediterranean navigation, but also many work boats from yesterday and today’ . Because he insists: "Escale à Sète is not a folkloric festival" but rather an event intended for < em>"safeguard living maritime heritage". And alongside the large sailing ships, we will find lateen sails, trawlers, small crafts, pilot boats… and of course the crews.

⛵️3 navires sont arrivés au port de Sète une semaine avant le début de @EscaleASete ! La grande parade d’arrivée des voiliers prendra place le 26 mars. pic.twitter.com/Ji7799tDbH

— viàOccitanie (@viaOccitanieTV) March 18, 2024

For its Maritime Games

With the classic and popular events at each edition of parades at sea, naval battles or shows at the docks or on boats, this year, we will be able to enjoy something new: &quot ;The Maritime Games, in a nod to the Olympic Games, underlines Wolfgang Idiri. An idea that allows us to honor the know-how of sailors and sailors". Tests that are both technical (sailing) and physical: all the crews present will participate in these sea olympiads, including the national navy throughout the week. A competition which will be won, not on execution speed, but on technical quality criteria. This "Cultural Olympiad" obtained a label awarded as part of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Escale à Sète 2024 : où se garer et comment circuler pendant le festival des traditions maritimes ? https://t.co/aESzpqAAff via @Midilibre

— Escale à Sète 2024 (@EscaleASete) March 21, 2024

Only the visit to large ships is chargeable

Almost everything is free at Escale à Sète and a detour along the 2 km of quays where there are many activities not to mention the 120 ships to enjoy (only the visit to the tall ships is paying). It's a magnificent discovery and "the event is resolutely geared towards the public, with more than 1 000 free workshops over 12 villages", underlines the director. But above all it is "a great popular festival in the virtuous sense of the term, freely accessible. We strived to offer quality from the smallest to the oldest". This is the guarantee of having four sponsors for the four pillars of Escale à Sète: culture with the National Maritime Museum; environmental protection with Ifremer; solidarity with "500 volunteers on the maneuver", sponsored by the SNSM and finally the transmission with the Rectorate. < /p>

It’s a big family party

It's the celebration of maritime traditions "in a family and good-natured atmosphere. It’s an epicurean moment with the flavors of fishing and shellfish farming with Escale plate". Tasting of local products from the Thau basin and the region but also all the maritime cultural heritage with the Corsican delegation, guest of honor, but also the presence of Catalans, Italians, Dutch, Irish… Something to drink and eat (in moderation) but also something to enjoy beautiful festive moments with omnipresent music. "We will be able to count on the presence of nearly 60 groups who come from the four corners of the world but with a beautiful Mediterranean anchorage". Note the presence of musicians from the national navy, one hundred young choristers from the German navy and the presence of the emblematic Breton ensemble of Bagad de Lann-Bihoué. Melancholic or more upbeat songs: "This is an opportunity to discover the richness and diversity of the seafarers' culture", explains the director.

Les bateaux d’ @EscaleASete 2024 : les bateaux traditionnels, les plus nombreux du festival #Sète https://t.co/z3EBCWBKne

— Philippe Malric ⚓ (@PhilippeMalric) March 22, 2024

We can discover a vocation there

Stopover in Sète, is interested in living culture, environmental protection but also, in "transmission, c& ;rsquo;is one of the four pillars of Escale à Sète", recalls Wolfgang Idiri. Many players in the professional sectors will be able to give you a taste for all these maritime professions, training centers which will be present and even a forum, on Tuesday March 26, a day entitled “truant school& ;quot; around maritime professions. Ideal "for young people looking for opportunities or for parents who want to be informed".&amp ;nbsp;

For the complete stopover program in Sète, click here.
To buy your tickets for the tall ships visit, click here.

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