World Music Day is celebrated every year on June 21 in over 120 countries including the country where this day has its origin, France, where it is known as ‘Fete de la Musique’ meaning “festival of music” to honor the amateur and professional musicians.
The idea of the day was conceived in the 1970s by American musician Joel Cohen who used to work for a French radio station as he wanted bands to play on the evening of June 21 to welcome the first day of summer.
The day was finally adopted by France’s ministry of culture in 1982 due to efforts of Minister of Culture Jack Lang and French composer and music journalist Maurice Fleuret who had joined the ministry the previous year.
The first ‘Fete de la Musique’ was held on the streets of Paris and became a huge success within a few years.
The year 1985, European Year of the music was celebrated and in 1997 the European party of music charter was signed in Budapest encouraging countries outside Europe to join the annually held World Music Day celebration.
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According to France’s Ministry of Culture, ‘Fete de la Musique’ has become an event which prepares and organizes the musicians of the whole world for the pleasures of the audience of more than 120 countries starting with the European countries.
To capture the attention of millions of audience, the country hosts several concerts both for the amateur and professional musicians. Also for this day, the bars and restaurants which generally close around half past midnight are given special permission to stay open till late night to welcome the public.
Also in the cities across the world, musicians perform for free in public places.
