FIMU — Festival International de Musique Universitaire

Four days when Belfort becomes a capital of world music

Since 1987, FIMU has turned the heart of Belfort into a huge musical celebration. Organized by the City of Belfort with the support of local student associations, the International University Music Festival welcomes amateur and emerging professional acts from all over the world — bands, solo artists, students and non-students alike — with professional technical conditions. Free concerts, musical encounters and a mix of genres and audiences make this event truly unique.

Every style has its stage: classical music, jazz, world music and popular music meet across 16 stages, indoors and outdoors, over 220 concerts. At each edition, more than 1,000 artists and over 105,000 festivalgoers make the City of the Lion vibrate.

The 2027 edition: May 13 to 16

The next FIMU will take place from Thursday, May 13 to Sunday, May 16, 2027 in Belfort. As every year, the programme is built from the festival's international call for applications: artist applications for 2027 closed on November 2, 2026, and selected acts will be announced by email by February 2027 at the latest. Priority is given to acts that have never performed at the festival.

A festival designed for musicians

FIMU does not pay artists, but it hosts them as guests: accommodation and catering covered, a partial contribution to travel expenses, backline provided, and sound and lighting run by the festival's professional technicians. Each act can play several concerts over the weekend, from 30 to 75 minutes. And for the audience, everything is free — FIMU's signature since its creation.

Milestones

Born in 1987, FIMU has become one of Europe's great gatherings for student and amateur music: in 2025, its team received 1,317 applications from 87 countries. Each year, one country is honoured — in 2026, Belgium, with the band Colt as patron. The festival traditionally takes place in spring, in Belfort's old town, at the foot of Bartholdi's Lion.