The Paléo Festival de Nyon, usually just called Paléo, is an annual open-air festival held in Nyon, Switzerland. It is one of the major open-air music festivals in mainland Europe and the biggest in Switzerland. Both a springboard for young talent and a showcase for established artists, Paléo has gradually opened up to all musical styles, as well as to the circus and street arts. The festival lasts six days at the end of July, from Tuesday to Sunday, and the final main stage concert is preceded by a great firework display with music.
It started in 1976 under the name "Nyon Folk Festival". The first edition was held in the village hall in Nyon and brought 1800 spectators. The following editions, from 1977 until 1989, were held at Colovray, Nyon, by Lake Geneva and had only two stages. In 1986 the festival is renamed "Paléo Nyon Festival". In 1990, it moved to its current location, at the Plaine de l'Asse.
Since its inception, the festival has hosted more than 4,000 artists and welcomed nearly 8 million spectators. By 2025, it was recognized by the European Festivals Association (Yourope) as the "Best Major European Festival," maintained by a team of approximately 5,000 volunteers and 120 permanent staff members.
Contents
Stages
The Paléo features six stages:
La Grande Scène (the Main Stage)
Vega (Which replaced Les Arches in 2022)
Le Club Tent (the Club Tent)
La Ruche (the hive) (formerly called 'La Crique')
Le Dôme (the Dome)
Belleville (since 2022, dedicated to electronic music)
Le Détour (regional bands now located inside the festival, formerly called 'FMR' which was a free stage)
Since 2003, the Paléo has introduced Le Village du Monde (The World Village) section, which is a space reserved for an invited region of the world. This place offers the region's culture and food. It also includes Le Dôme which shows only artists from the invited region.
280,000 visitors and over 5,000 staff participated in the 2015 event.
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased on the Paléo Website.
Special offers are available usually as early as November of the year preceding the next Paléo festival with discounted all-week passes. Later in Spring the official programme is published and the second, slightly less discounted tickets are available. They are often sold out very quickly. In the months preceding the festival more tickets are sold at full price.
To fight black-market ticket sales, 1500 one-day tickets are held up to be sold the same day as their validity date and can be purchased online (to be printed by the buyer).
The lineup used to be revealed on a late April Wednesday at noon, following which, both tickets and passes would sell out within days. From 2008 onwards, the lineup is unveiled one week prior to the sale, giving people plenty of time to make up their mind and thus rushing them online to get their tickets one week later. In 2009, all 280,000 tickets and passes were sold in a record one-and-a-half hours.
Yearly summary
1997
Invited artists:
Al Jarreau
Eddy Mitchell
IAM
Isaac Hayes
Jamiroquai
Jane Birkin
Johnny Clegg & Savuka
Khaled
Morcheeba
Noa
Noir Désir
Pascal Obispo
Placebo
Shaggy
Simple Minds
Sinéad O'Connor
Suzanne Vega
Texas
For a full list see the 1997 history.
1998
Invited artists:
Charles Trenet
Claude Nougaro
Dolly
Eagle-Eye Cherry
Faudel
Herbie Hancock
IAM
Jean-Louis Aubert
Joe Cocker
K's Choice
Linton Kwesi Johnson
Louise Attaque
-M-
MC Solaar
Patricia Kaas
Portishead
The Prodigy
The Wailers
Run-D.M.C.
Stereophonics
Yann Tiersen
For a full list see the 1998 history.
1999
Invited artists:
Alliance Ethnik
Ben Harper
Celia Cruz
Charles Aznavour
Cheb Mami
Fun Lovin' Criminals
Garbage
Gotthard
Iggy Pop
Stephan Eicher
For a full list see the 1999 history.
2000
Invited artists:
Beck
Bloodhound Gang
Buena Vista Social Club
Compay Segundo
Rita Mitsouko
Louise Attaque
Massilia Sound System
Mickey 3D
Morcheeba
Muse
Noir Désir
Oasis
Patrick Bruel
Pink Martini
Renaud
Saian Supa Crew
For a full list see the 2000 history.
2001
Invited artists:
Ben Harper
Kool & the Gang
Lynda Lemay
Manu Chao
Natalia M. King
Placebo
Red Snapper
St. Germain
Texas
The Young Gods
Tom McRae
Vanessa Paradis
For a full list see the 2001 history.
2002
Invited artists:
Zucchero
Yann Tiersen
The Cure
Supertramp
Pet Shop Boys
MC Solaar
Jovanotti
Noir Désir
Indochine
James Brown
For a full list see the 2002 history.
2003
Invited artists:
Asian Dub Foundation
R.E.M.
Alanis Morissette
Ibrahim Ferrer
Jimmy Cliff
Massive Attack
Nada Surf
Renaud
Ska-P
The Cardigans
For a full list see the 2003 history.
This year saw the first Village du Monde. Africa was invited with Cameroon, Nigeria and other countries from that continent.
2004
Invited artists:
Eros Ramazzotti
Jamel Debbouze (a French comedian in the festival's only non-musical show scheduled on the main scene)
Pascal Obispo
Peter Gabriel
Stephan Eicher
Starsailor
Texas
Muse
Myslovitz (From Poland)
Latin America was invited at the Village du Monde. Specifically Venezuela, Colombia, Equator, Peru and Mexico among others.
For a full list see the 2004 history.
2005
In 2005, the following world-renowned artists participated at the Paléo (among many others):
Lenny Kravitz
George Clinton (funk musician)
Jamiroquai
Starsailor
Rammstein
Samael
IAM
Stress
Pink Martini
Babylon Circus
Franz Ferdinand
That year was considered very successful, with a cool but clear weather for most of the week (except some short showers on Sunday).
Asia was the region invited to the Village du Monde, including China, Tibet, Nepal, Vietnam, Thailand and Japan.
For a full list see the 2005 history.
2006
Paléo took place from 18 to 23 July 2006 with the following artists:
Depeche Mode
Placebo
The Who
Tracy Chapman
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
Pixies
Goldfrapp
Ziggy Marley
HIM
The Dandy Warhols
Dub Incorporation
Benabar
Feeder
The Kooks
Indochine
Hateful Monday
Eastern Europe hosted the Village du Monde.
For a full list see the 2006 history.
2007
Björk
Muse
Arctic Monkeys
Jean-Louis Murat
Rachid Taha
Arcade Fire
Arno
Malouma
Pink
Robert Plant
Laurent Voulzy
Grand Corps Malade
Joey Starr
Stress
Oxmo Puccino
Daby Toure
Zucchero
Lynda Lemay
Ayo
Groundation
Bitty Mc Lean feat. Sly & Robbie
Tryo
Sanseverino
Emily Loizeau
Gad Elmaleh
Air
The Young Gods
Cassius
Renaud
Zazie
Gogol Bordello
The Locos
2008
The Hives
The Raveonettes
Massive Attack
Mika
Yael Naïm
R.E.M.
Justice
R.E.M. headlined the Sunday night.
For a full list see the 2008 history.
2009
2009 edition of Paléo took place from the 21 to 26 July 2009. Below list includes some of the musicians who performed during the concert:
India was the region invited to the Village du Monde.
For a full list see the 2009 history.
2010
In 2010, the festival was held from July 20 to July the 24th. Some of the performing artists included:
N*E*R*D
Iggy and The Stooges
Motörhead
Damien Saez
Suprême NTM
Two Door Cinema Club
Charlie Winston
Foals
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Johnny Clegg
Milow
Archive
Gentleman & The Evolution
Sens Unik
Jamiroquai
Plastiscines
John Butler Trio
Paolo Nutini
Klaxons
Indochine
The Motto for the Village du Monde was Southern Africa.
For a full list see the 2010 history.
2011
The 2011 edition of the Paléo Festival took place from Tuesday, July the 19th to Sunday, July the 24th. The following list includes some of the acts that were confirmed on the 5th of April:
AaRON
Admiral James T.
Jean-Louis Aubert
Beirut
Bloody Beetroots
James Blunt
The Chemical Brothers
Cocoon
Les Cowboys Fringants
The Dø
PJ Harvey
Jack Johnson
Mika (replaced Amy Winehouse)
Metronomy
Moriarty
Yael Naïm
The National
Noisettes
Patrice & The Supowers
Robert Plant & The Band of Joy
Portishead
Pulled Apart By Horses
The Strokes
Stromae
Tarun Bhardwaj Ambala Waale
Amy Winehouse (canceled her European Tour due to alcohol problems)
2012
17 July
Manu Chao
Franz Ferdinand
Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine
Camille
Brigitte
M83
Quentin Mottier
Baba Zula
18 July
The Cure
Justice
Mashrou' Leila
Natacha Atlas
Dionysos
Bon Iver
Dominique A
Other Lives
Warpaint
19 July
Sting
Stephan Eicher
Caravan Palace
Chinese Man
Groundation
Raggasonic
Le Nico Baillod Band
Le Trio Joubran
20 July
Lenny Kravitz
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Imany
2013
23 July
Neil Young and Crazy Horse
Two Gallants
Phoenix
Sophie Hunger
Alt-J
Lou Doillon
24 July
Arctic Monkeys
The Smashing Pumpkins
Asaf Avidan
Beach House
Dranko Jones
The Bloody Beetroots
25 July
Dub Incorporation
Santana
Tryo
Stupeflip
Sigur Rós
Kadebostany
26 July
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
-M-
Youssoupha
Keny Arkana
27 July
Blur
BB Brunes
Damien Saez
Benjamin Biolay
Kavinsky
2014
Vincent Veillon et Vincent Kucholl
Seasick Steve
Thirty Seconds to Mars
2015
Robbie Williams
Gary Clark Jr.
2016
Muse
Bastille
Soom T
2017
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Arcade Fire
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Foals
Pixies
Black M
Christophe Maé
Petit Biscuit
Midnight Oil
Lola Marsh
2018
Gorillaz
The Killers
Lenny Kravitz
Kaleo
Depeche Mode
Indochine
MGMT
Jain
Jamel Debbouze
Romeo Elvis
Suprême NTM
Nekfeu
Bigflo & Oli
Angèle
Feder
Lorenzo
Orelsan
Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra
2020
The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021
The 2021 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.