Orelsan in Chambord, Solidays, Garorock: cascading cancellations of concerts and festivals due to the heatwave

While temperatures still remain very high (up to 41°C expected on Saturday in Vichy according to Météo France), major outdoor cultural events are experiencing a wave of cancellations this weekend. Starting with Paris where police chief Patrice Faure asked the organizers of Solidays and the Pride March on Friday to cancel their events. In the rest of France and even in Europe, deprogramming is increasing.

Orelsan’s concert in Chambord

The Caennais rapper’s concert scheduled for this Friday evening at the Château de Chambord was canceled by prefectural decision due to the heatwave, “in consultation with the general director of the Domaine national de Chambord and AZ Prod, organizer of the event”specifies the Domaine in a press release.

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This decision comes due to the placement on heatwave red vigilance of the Loir-et-Cher department since June 21 but also of “national context of cascading cancellation of outdoor cultural events”it is added. “Regarding the concerts of June 27 and 28, the decision will be taken later”according to the press release. The American group Maroon 5 is due to perform on Saturday in Chambord for its only date of the year in France, while DJ Snake is scheduled for Sunday. “We expect 30,000 people per evening”Julien Lavergne, director of AZ Prod, told AFP in November.

The Orelsan concert scheduled for Saturday evening as part of the Nancy Open air festival is, however, being maintained, announced the prefecture of Meurthe-et-Moselle, a department also affected by the heatwave red vigilance episode. “The organizer has significantly strengthened the health and logistics system deployed to accommodate the 16,000 expected spectators”indicates the prefecture. The concert, scheduled for 9:30 p.m., has been postponed to 10:15 p.m., the event will be “100% alcohol-free” and water will be distributed free of charge on the festival site, where misters will be installed.

The Solidays festival in Paris

The organizers of Solidays, which were to begin this Friday evening until Sunday June 28 at the Longchamp racecourse, announced to the volunteers the cancellation of the 2026 edition. The police headquarters justifies this request by “the exceptional heatwave which has lasted since June 21” et “tests emergency services and health establishments”. “In the hypothesis” where the organizers concerned do not “would not consent” to cancel these events, “the police chief will ban them by order”she warns in a press release. “Whether Solidays will take place this year, I’m not sure, but it should be decided shortly,” declared this morning Luc Barruet, the director of the festival, on Franceinfo .

On Thursday, Paris police chief Patrice Faure warned of the saturation of hospital emergencies. For his part, the head of emergency at the Georges Pompidou hospital and LR deputy, Philippe Juvin, spoke of his concern at the idea of ​​maintaining the Solidays. In the current state of hospitals, it would be “totally unreasonable” not to give up on the festivities, according to him.

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The Garorock festival in Marmande

The kickoff of the 30^e edition of Garorock was finally postponed for a day. Due to the episode of extreme heat affecting the South-West and the placement of Lot-et-Garonne on heatwave red alert, the organizers, the prefect and the town of Marmande canceled the first day of the festival.

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It was to serve as a prelude to the festivities, notably with the presence of Dutch DJ Ki/Ki, a figure on the international electronic scene. Festival-goers holding a ticket only for Thursday, as well as those who have purchased packages including this date, will benefit from a partial refund. The precise terms of this compensation must be communicated in the coming days.

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The reconstruction of the Battle of Waterloo in Belgium

No soldiers in uniform, bivouacs, or cannon firing: the annual reenactment of the Battle of Waterloo which sealed Napoleon’s fate, scheduled for this weekend in Belgium, was canceled due to the heatwave. Like much of Europe, the country is suffocating under extreme heat: the temperature record for the month of June could be exceeded on Friday. In this context, the organizers of the reenactment of the famous battle of 1815, which attracts thousands of curious people each year to the countryside south of Brussels, had to cancel the event.

“In view of the evolution of the meteorological situation (…) maintaining the event would no longer make it possible to guarantee the security conditions that we consider essential”write the organizers in a press release. “If this page of our history cannot be written this weekend, we already know that we will find it together next year”they still assure.

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The Defqon.1 techno festival in the Netherlands

Techno festivals «hardcore» Defqon.1 in the Netherlands was canceled on Friday June 26 due to the heatwave, shortly after the Dutch authorities issued a red alert for eight provinces in the country.

“This is the first time that the Netherlands has issued a red alert due to high temperatures. In collaboration with the authorities, we are therefore forced to cancel the remaining days of Defqon.1”indicated the organizer of the Q-dance festival on his site. The festival, which attracted nearly 250,000 visitors in 2025 to its site in Biddinhuizen, in the province of Flevoland (central), had just started Thursday evening and was to be held until June 28. “We are absolutely devastated by this news”added the organizer.

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