The British Invasion Of Fête De La Musique
Why the British youth were drawn to Paris like the Pied Piper.
When our Uber driver asked us why and how so many Black Londoners like ourselves had organised to be in Paris at the same time, we were so stunned.
Partially because the way he asked it implied that he imagined every Black person in London knew each other and must have had a zoom meeting or a massive Partiful invite coordinating our descent on France, and partially because he asked us this right after he had just ran over one of our friend’s toes in his haste to speed off with the rear passenger door still open.
You Going ‘Fête’?
21st June 2026 was my 22nd birthday and I decided all the way back in February that I would spend it with my friends in Paris at Fête De La Musique.
Everyone in London has been raving about it, and if it’s going to happen on my birthday every single year I might as well go at least once. It’s not like I’m getting any younger, so what better birthday to spend with a bunch of sweaty French people, as well as Londoners, than my 22nd?
As the trip approached, I noticed that the online discourse about Londoners attending and hosting events at Fête De La Musique was getting pretty heated, many French people expressing their distaste towards the incoming hoard of Londoners, and even Londoners questioning why so many people were drawn to the celebration.
