European festivals in July: 2026 Worldwide music festival Sete France

Worldwide Music Festival, Sète, South France [All images courtesy of https://worldwidefestival.com/]

The Worldwide French music festival in Sete will be celebrating is 20th year in 2026 and will be the held from 28 June to 5 July 2026. The Worldwide French music festival is promoted by the DJ and Music producer, Giles Peterson and Freshly Cut, a Montpellier based events management company. Worldwide is one of the best French music festivals for modern Jazz, Funk and World Music. The 2026 Worldwide French music festival line up has recently been announced. 

This unique French music festival is held in the coastal town of Sete, France. The main events are held in the Théâtre de la Mer, on the banks of the Mediterranean, but other events are also held at the La Ola beach club on Plage du Lido.

For the evening concerts and events at the Théâtre de la Mer, doors open at 20.00 and the venue closes at 03.00 in the morning. The beach events at La Ola start from 16.00 and the club closes at 02.00 in the morning.

As of 23 February 2026, all the weekly passes for the 2026 Worldwide festival in Sete had completely sold out. It is therefore only possible to reserve individual nights by purchasing tickets from the Sete Tourism Office. However, in keeping with tradition, the opening night, the day time WF beach and the whole Sunday at La Ola beach club all remain free entrance.

Worldwide Festival Sete, France, 2026

Theatre de la Mer Sete, France [All images courtesy of https://worldwidefestival.com/]

The line up for the 2026 Worldwide festival includes the following acts:

• The 2026 Worldwide festival will kick-off on Sunday 28 June 2026 with the British-Zimbabwean DJ, Danny Wheeler, aka WheelUP. This will be a return performance for Wheeler at the festival, as he promotes last year's album, 'Inner Light'.
• Monday 29 June 2026 features a wealth of artists playing on both the WF Beach and the Thêatre de la Mer stage. The headline act is undoubtedly, Goldie, the pioneer of UK Jungle and drum'n'bass. He will be showcasing his live band. Also performing on the Monday will be DJ Storm and the drum'n'bass pioneer, Fablo. Appearing on the beach will be the reggae-dub legend, the Mad Professor.
• The legendary French DJ and electronic music producer, Laurent Garnier, will be playing a four hour set at Théâtre de la Mer on Tuesday 30 June 2026. Heavily involved in the acid-house scene (along with Peterson), Garnier was resident DJ at a number of clubs in Paris, including Rex Club and Le Palace. On the beach will be DJ and former manager of Daft Punk, Busy P; and the talented duo, Souleance (comprising producer Fulgeance and DJ Soulist).
• Wednesday 1 July 2026 will bring a double header to the Theatre de la Mer stage. Floating Points, aka Sam Shepherd will be playing an exclusive DJ set blending 80s boogie, vintage house and soaring electronica. He will be followed by the legendary keyboardist and music producer, Beverly Glenn-Copeland. His cult album 'Keyboard Fantasies' (1986), fused jazz, folk, ambient, and electronic sounds and the American is sure to put on an incredible show
• Thursday 2 July 2026 - this has been billed as a surprise act!
• Friday 3 July 2026 - celebrating the 25th anniversary of his ground-breaking album "1st Born Second" (2001), will be the talented American singer, Bilal. Part of the iconic Soulquarians collective, alongside D'Angelo and Erykah Badu, Bilal displays a dizzying vocal range from deep lows to falsetto. Also appearing on the Theatre de la Mer stage will be the funk/afro/disco/jazz orchestra Arp Frique, backed by The Perpetual Singers. The brainchild of the Dutch artist, Niels Nieuborg, the ensemble promise a high energy set.
• Saturday night at the Worldwide festival is always the hottest ticket to get. This year is no exception, with no fewer than 4 acts appearing on Thêatre de la Mer stage on Saturday 4 July 2026. The Kyoto Jazz Massive, will bring their Acid-Jazz grooves. The New York saxophonist, Tomoki Sanders, will bring a fusion of jazz, funk, hip-hop. An act billed as the Eves' Drop Collective will feature the talented foursome of Lil' Minx, Sarah Sweeney, Bembe Segue & Vanessa Freeman) and finally, the evening will be brought to a close by Gilles Peterson.
• The 20th Worldwide festival will of course be closed by none other than the legend himself, Gilles Peterson, on the Thêatre de la Mer stage on Sunday 5 July 2026.

Giles Peterson Worldwide French Music Festival 2026, Sete, France

Gilles Peterson was born in Caen, France, to a French mother and a Swiss father. This British-based DJ, club promoter and record label owner, first became known on the London circuit as a DJ specialising in the new breed of "acid jazz", drawing on the jazz, funk and Brazilian music. Peterson came to fame running the club night at Dingwalls in Camden Town. Through his music labels Acid Jazz, Talkin' Loud, and latterly Brownswood Recordings, he has been associated some well-known artists such as Erykah Badu, Roni Size and Jamiroquai.

After starting out on various London-based radio stations, most notably the Kiss FM dance music station, he was recruited to Radio 1 in 1998. Since 2012, joined BBC 6 Music and hosts a 3 hour Saturday show, which is also broadcast across seven European countries, including: Radio Nova (France), FM4 (Austria), Radio X (Germany), Funkhaus Europa (Germany) and InterFM in Japan.

Peterson's focus has always been jazz music, generally modern jazz, with a strong emphasis on its translation to a club environment. Peterson and Freshly Cut, a French event production company from Montpellier, collaborated to create the Worldwide Festival. This started out as a small intimate festival during the summertime in the coastal town of Sète in France in 2006. It was expanded to include a winter versions which is now hosted in the Swiss Alps - Leysin.

European Festivals, July 2026

Worldwide at the Beach, Plage du Lido, Sete, South France [All images courtesy of https://worldwidefestival.com/]

If you are looking for European festivals in July to visit, then the Worldwide Festival in Sete, France, is a very special event. This French music festival has a real intimate feel about it. The small Theatre de la Mer venue, is an open-air amphitheatre which looks directly out onto the Mediterranean sea. Other events are held directly on the beach and at other venues in the town. Specialising in modern jazz, funk, african and latin american music, the Worldwide Festival has a strong following and tickets for this popular European Festival held in July each year, regularly get sold out well in advance.

Visit the Best festivals in France 2026?

2024 promises to be a great year for festivals in the South of France. Here you will find information on other festivals taking place in Sete this summer as well as a full calendar list of festivals across the South of France during 2026. You will also find links to find accommodation in and around Montpellier and Sete this summer. Wherever you end up, have a great summer!

If you would like some more detailed information or if you have any questions, then just drop us a quick message and we will come straight back to you. I wish you a wonderful stay in the South of France. Contact Iain by Email