Audiences step out of their comfort zone at this annual extravaganza in the historic old town of the Swiss city, where the shows are staged in eye-catching settings

Lausanne has been the official Olympic capital for 30 years but for even longer this hilly Swiss city has hosted a summer spectacular with a dizzying array of artistic rather than athletic disciplines. This year’s lineup for the Festival de la Cité – its 52nd edition – features more than 80 shows over six days, from wildly contrasting styles of circus, dance and theatre to a participatory street parade and a music programme including choirs, screamo, reggaeton, jazz, postpunk and gabber. Not to mention Swiss-American yodeller Erika Stucky, performing in the city’s 13th-century cathedral, with Johannes Keller on the organ.

Audiences step out of their comfort zones because every show is free on these predominantly outdoor stages clustered together in the historical old town. Each performance is a gateway to another, hopes Martine Chalverat, who took over as artistic director in 2022 and formerly ran the documentary film festival Visions du Réel in nearby Nyon.