Montreux Jazz Festival confirms dates and hybrid format for 2021 edition

The 2021 Montreux Jazz Festival will be changing its format this year to coincide with the current guidelines set out by Swiss authorities and the uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Montreux Jazz Festival's 55th edition is due to take place from 2-17 July, and for the first time ever a stage will be constructed on Lake Geneva 25 metres from the shore, with a maximum capacity of 600 seats along the shoreline.

There will also be three other stages with a smaller capacity hosting jazz concerts, workshops, sessions and more in the event spaces and gardens of the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace hotel.

Due to COVID-19, the capacity will be limited for the physical festival, but will also be available internationally as a digital event.

Mathieu Jaton, CEO of Montreux Jazz Festival says, "We are thrilled to unveil our brand-new format for this year’s Festival, which pursues our hybrid model strategy. Montreux Jazz Festival has always been about creating very special concerts where artists can feel up close and personal with their fans, while sharing these unique moments worldwide through audiovisual content. This year, our stages’ capacities will be even smaller due to Covid-19 restrictions, which will create an exceptional streaming experience for international audiences who can’t come to the Festival. The content will be especially breathtaking from our new stage built above the water on Lake Geneva, with the Alps in the background."

Contact tracing will be in place for each Festival zone (the Montreux Palace, Lake stage area and the Gardens), and will be adapted based on the changing guidelines due to the pandemic.

The Festival is set to go ahead, from 2 to 17 July 2021, with a format that can be adjusted and adapted based on the Covid-19 situation. In a Festival first, a new stage will be entirely built on the lake!#MJF21 #MJFRestart #WhereLegendsAreBornhttps://t.co/R52ti3psxn

— Montreux Jazz Festival (@MontreuxJazz) March 31, 2021