The Avignon Festival was born from the request for a simple wall

The Avignon Festival is an iconic cultural event whose main venue is the Cour d'honneur of the Palais des papes. Jean Vilar originally asked Jeanne Laurent for a simple exterior wall to isolate himself without a roof, which led her to suggest the palace courtyard to him. The first edition thus took place from September 4 to 10, 1947 and attracted 4,800 spectators for seven performances.