Like every year, the most anticipated event in the Annecy basin will take place on the first Saturday of August and will once again offer one of the most beautiful fireworks displays in the world. Discover all the information so you don’t miss anything about the Annecy Lake Festival.
A grandiose fireworks display
With over 200,000 spectators expected each year, the Annecy Lake Festival is the highlight of the year in Annecy and offers a colorful fireworks display over the water, as well as in the air. This show is among the most beautiful and longest in the world, an experience to be enjoyed live on the first Saturday of August along the shores of Lake Annecy, more precisely on the Pâquier in the bay of Albigny. Of course, it is not mandatory to purchase a paid seat to enjoy the show, as the fireworks are visible throughout the entire urban area. However, being closer allows you to enjoy what is not visible from afar, as well as the soundtrack of the show.
This year, a new theme has been chosen, and the show will be launched from rafts scattered across the bay of Albigny over more than five hundred meters in length. Water jets, projectors, and water fountains will accompany the fireworks. Each year, the city of Annecy entrusts the preparation of this show to a renowned pyrotechnician.
A festival created in honor of Napoleon III
From August 29 to 31, 1860, Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie were invited to Annecy to celebrate the annexation of Savoy to France. On this occasion, the city organized a lakeside night festival to properly welcome the sovereigns.
Over time, the lake festival has been celebrated every year in August in Annecy. This is the origin of the lake festival, which gradually transformed into a majestic fireworks display.
Where to see the Lake Festival?
To see this magical show, you have two options: buy tickets to be as close as possible to the fireworks, or know the free spots to still enjoy the lake festival.
Ticketing
As can be seen on the map below, there are many paid options to admire the show on the day. From stands on the esplanade of Pâquier, to the surrounding beaches or the park of the Imperial Palace, you have a choice of several price ranges. Prices range from €3 for a seat on the Marquisats beach to €38 for a seat in the stands on the esplanade of Pâquier in the front rows.
The ticket office usually opens in two phases, first with a physical opening in Annecy a few weeks before the online opening on a national scale, to favor ticket purchases for residents.
Note that online ticketing generally opens from late May or early June.
Ticket prices:
| Prix | Catégorie | |
|---|---|---|
| Chaise carré or | 50€ | Catégorie 1 |
| Chaise verte sur estrade | 45€ | Catégorie 1 |
| Chaise bleue sur estrade | 45€ | Catégorie 1 |
| Chaise verte | 40€ | Catégorie 1 |
| Chaise bleue | 40€ | Catégorie 1 |
| Chaise rouge | 40€ | Catégorie 1 |
| Chaise violette | 40€ | Catégorie 1 |
| Tribune rouge | 37€ | Catégorie 2 |
| Tribune verte | 37€ | Catégorie 2 |
| Tribune bleue | 37€ | Catégorie 2 |
| Chaise saumon | 30€ | Catégorie 3 |
| Chaise jaune | 23€ | Catégorie 4 |
| Chaise Jardins de l'Europe | 23€ | Catégorie 4 |
| Pelouse Pâquier - adultes | 15€ | Catégorie 5 |
| Pelouse Pâquier - 6/12 ans | 7,50€ | Catégorie 5 |
| Pelouse Impérial - adultes | 11€ | Catégorie 6 |
| Pelouse Impérial - 6/12 ans | 5,50€ | Catégorie 6 |
| Pelouse Marquisats - adultes | 6,50€ | Catégorie 7 |
| Pelouse Marquisats - 6/12 ans | 3,50€ | Catégorie 7 |
People with reduced mobility benefit from a rate of €40. The first accompanying person receives their ticket for free, while subsequent tickets are priced at €40 per person.
© City of Annecy
Enjoy the show for free
To enjoy the show without paying, it is possible. Of course, you may be further away from the fireworks. However, since the rockets are launched at varying heights, with the largest going very high, you can still enjoy the show and see one of the most beautiful fireworks displays in Europe.
Several solutions are available to you:
- Come by boat and approach the no-navigation zone.
- Go to the esplanade of the Visitation which overlooks the bay of Annecy
- Look for spots without vegetation facing Annecy at the bottom of the Veyrier mountain.
Practical information
- Schedule: From 9:45 PM to 11 PM.
- Doors open at 8 PM.
- The city reserves the right to modify the order, times, and duration of the show
- The show starts at the scheduled time. In case of delay, spectators with numbered seats will not be guaranteed to be seated in those seats. Latecomers may be seated wherever there is space.
- For children under four years old, they cannot occupy a numbered seat and must sit on an adult’s lap.
- For safety reasons, glass bottles and animals are prohibited within the Lake Festival area.
- If the weather does not allow the show to proceed, the city of Annecy may cancel it. Cancellation will never be announced before 8 PM.
- The show will not be rescheduled if it is canceled.
The 2026 edition
This year, the Lake Festival will take place on Saturday, August 1. Once again, Arteventia, the French company that was behind the previous edition as well as the fireworks on July 14, 2025, is in charge.
Titled “The Soul of the World”, the show will place music at the center of the evening. To accompany the pyrotechnic displays, the programming will navigate between classical works, film soundtracks, orchestral creations, and popular songs. For 70 minutes, the show will unfold in seven tableaux mixing light games, water jets, and pyrotechnic effects, with the return of drones in the staging. The evening will also be accompanied by the voice of Maïk Darah, a well-known actress in French dubbing.
Past editions
The 2025 edition
The Lake Festival of Annecy made its return in 2025, with a date set for Saturday, August 2. The show, titled “Ode to the Moon”, offered a 70-minute performance blending pyrotechnics, water jets, lights, and lasers. Designed by the company Arteventia and narrated by the voice of Benoît Allemane, it featured a varied musical repertoire of about thirty pieces to provide an immersive experience for the spectators.
Throughout the day, several activities also took place in different locations around the city: podcasts, harpist concert, dance performances, giant goose game, clown acts, storytelling, brass band…
The 2024 edition
The 2024 edition of the Lake Festival did not take place due to the Paris 2024 Olympics, but this pause provided the opportunity for the city hall to seek the opinions of residents through a large survey. Nearly 3,000 people participated, allowing several areas for improvement to be identified that should shape future editions of the event.
The 2023 edition
The 2023 edition of the Lake Festival took place on Saturday, August 5. Ticket sales opened on Monday, June 12. That year, the chosen theme was musicals. For 70 minutes, the pyrotechnicians offered a colorful show, accompanied, as in 2022, by drones, even more numerous than in the previous edition.
That year, the Lake Festival recorded 52,000 paid entries, while 100,000 to 150,000 spectators enjoyed the show outside the official spaces. Among them, 90% were local residents.
The 2022 edition
After 2 years of cancellation due to the health crisis, the Lake Festival made its grand return to Annecy. The fireworks display took place on August 6, 2022. Many new features were on the program for the 2022 Lake Festival, including the use of over 300 drones that flew in the air in the lead-up to the fireworks for about ten minutes. They notably illustrated the birth of the Lake Annecy.
The budget for this new edition amounted to 1.2 million euros with three tons of pyrotechnic material. As for the economic impact, it was estimated at 1 million euros.
The 2021 edition
Originally scheduled for August 7, 2021, from 9:45 PM to 11 PM, with doors opening at 7 PM, the 2021 Lake Festival of Annecy had to be canceled due to the health crisis related to the coronavirus. Following this cancellation, the collective “Fewer cars, more bikes in Annecy”, stemming from Greenpeace Annecy, proposed to replace the event with a day dedicated to bicycles around the lake, an initiative aimed at promoting soft mobility.
The 2020 edition
The previous year, the 2020 Lake Festival was also canceled due to the health situation. This edition was supposed to be special, as it would have marked the 90th anniversary of the fireworks display.
The French group Brezac, accompanied by three major international pyrotechnicians — Mark Kelsall, Martin Hildeberg, and Pavlos Nanos — had been selected to design a show based on the four fundamental elements:
- Air, symbolizing joy
- Fire, representing anger
- Earth, imbued with nostalgia
- Water, evoking serenity
The 2019 edition
On August 3, 2019, the fireworks of the Annecy Lake Festival were launched by the Italian pyrotechnician Parente Fireworks, based in Melara. The show, themed “Dreaming the Sky”, illuminated the lake for over 70 minutes.
The bay of Albigny was highlighted throughout the show, offering a magnificent display of light fountains that amazed the audience.
It should be noted that Parente Fireworks was not new to this: the pyrotechnician had already signed the shows for the 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015 editions of the Lake Festival.
The 2018 edition
In 2018, the Annecy Lake Festival was marked by the show “Around the Earth”, designed by the pyrotechnician Pyroemotions, with a soundtrack by Acqua Viva Production. The show followed the initiatory journey of a father and his daughter, in the manner of a Jules Verne novel.
The Italian pyrotechnician Andréa Scarpato, renowned for his talent in pyrotechnic synchronization, orchestrated this edition with impressive precision. To bring this grand show to life, he had 6 tons of powder, launched from 60 pontoons, forming a 600-meter-long stage, illuminated by 60 projectors.
The 2017 edition
In 2017, the Annecy Lake Festival lit up the sky with the show “The Dance of Fire”, orchestrated by the Portuguese pyrotechnician Grupo Luso Pirotecnia.
Inspired by the four elements – water, earth, fire, and air – this show offered a unique scenography, integrating three-dimensional effects, a true innovation for the event. The fireworks evoked dance, each explosion being conceived as a luminous choreography. The technical means deployed were impressive, with 141 firing positions spread across the lake, creating a 360° circular effect, thus enveloping the audience in an immersive spectacle.
