18/08/2025
Manx Culture reaches almost a million festival-goers in Brittany
Isle of Man performers showcased to nearly one million visitors at the Festival Interceltique de Lorient in Brittany earlier this month (1–10 August) for one of the world’s largest gatherings of Celts.
A Manx delegation of 50 performers and volunteers joined 5,000 artists from across the world in a celebration of Celtic music, song, dance, visual arts, sport, cuisine, academia and film. Island acts included Isla Callister Music, Skeealyn Vannin, Smooinaght Mie, DJ Çheumooie , father-son duo Jamie Smith and Frank Joughin, Elizabeth Davidson-Blythe & Daniel Quayle, and Rosie Watson as the visual artist for the EuroCeltic exhibition.
Among the highlights, Skeealyn Vannin performed five stadium shows to more than 30,000 spectators. The Grand Parade of Celtic Nations attracted 90,000 people to the streets of Lorient, with over one million viewers watching the national broadcast on France 3. Folk group, Smooinaght Mie reached the final four of 15 entries in the prestigious Loïc Raison Trophée, while band member Jack McLean came third in the accordion competition.
Isla Callister joined internationally acclaimed musicians from across the Celtic nations for the headline show Celtic Odyssee #4, performing a suite of Manx music. Recordings of the last native Manx speakers overlayed with electronic beats were played to thousands during Cheumooie’s DJ sets at Le Kleub. And, for the first time in the festival’s film programme, every Celtic nation was represented, with the Isle of Man featured through Culture Vannin’s short film Teeval at CinéFIL.
In the shared Celtic area, a team of volunteers running the Isle of Man’s cultural pavilion welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors, offering daily opportunities to engage with the Island’s heritage, language, music and traditions, including the opportunity to taste fresh homemade bonnag.
During ten days of music, dance, exhibitions and workshops, the Isle of Man’s presence was enthusiastically received.
Delegate for the Isle of Man, Grainney Sheard said: 'We are so extremely proud of what the Island contributes each year to this festival. The hard work and talent of the delegation reaffirms the Island’s role as a key contributor to this festival as well as its enduring appeal to an international audience.'
Festival Interceltique de Lorient will take place next year 31 July - 9 August 2026. If you’d like to be involved or find out more about it, please email the festival delegates at [email protected].
📸: Culture Vannin (Teeval film still), Festival Interceltique de Lorient and the Isle of Man Delegation.
