The Cergy Soit! festival makes its return for its 28th edition in the Cergy-Pontoise urban area, in the Val-d'Oise (95). After preludes that swept across ten towns from September 11 to 18, the festival’s main moment arrives on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September 2026, at the heart of Cergy.
We’ve combed the 2026 program in detail, and there’s more than enough to fill an entire weekend. More than 150 free performances over two days, led by over 40 companies and 200 artists, spanning circus, street theatre, dance, juggling, puppetry, music and grand-scale projections.
This year, the festival team has chosen a two-wheeled throughline. The edition’s theme, "With a Little Bike in the Party", brings together soft mobility and new technologies to explore what the metropolitan area calls its "shared futures".
The idea is captured in one image: touring companies by bike, and evenings that tilt toward video mapping, virtual reality, and participatory video games. The full program can be found on the official Cergy Soit! website, which also offers the 2026 booklet in PDF.
The high point of the festival centers on the François-Mitterrand Park, the Prefecture forecourt, the Place des Arts, the ESSEC forecourt, and the station square. Here are the events that have us itching to grab our bikes and head out:
Several resident companies unveiling their work in Cergy. Among the créations 2026, we’ve spotted Les Remarquables from the Agence de Géographie Affective, Les inachevées by Les Choses de rien, Ma joie comme tranchée by Ktha compagnie, Triste provisoire by Le Tigre d'eau, Il paraît que with Art ensemble, Meta morphose by Yokai S0-6, Asile by B.Family and La Bible du déboulonnement by Nous Théâtre.
The students of the École nationale supérieure d'arts de Paris-Cergy are also presenting three proposals: Soleil, Walking and Walking, and Les Affinités aléatoires, the latter looping continuously after dark on Place des Arts.
The François-Mitterrand Park is hosting all weekend a human-powered funfair space, designed for families and young children. No engine, no amplified sound: you pedal, you push, you make things go.
On the menu, Le voltigeur à pédales d'Anim'Aventures, La Grande houle of the Compagnie Les Marchepieds, and three rides from the company Tête à plumes, Le carrousel des jardiniers, Le Manège à plumes and Le Carrousel du Maharaja, all accessible from age 2. The P'tits Chats Pitres meanwhile offer continuous workshops, Dans l'univers du P'tit vélo.
The marquee event takes place in Cergy, and the address to note is Place des Arts, about 200 meters from the RER A Cergy-Préfecture station. Public transport remains the best option, with routes to check on Île-de-France Mobilités.
For those arriving by car, a free parking lot with 400 spaces is available at the Les 3 Fontaines shopping center, with a festival-issued parking voucher to be requested at the festival information desks before you depart. Avenue Bernard Hirsch will be closed to traffic between the prefecture and ESSEC during the performances. For breaks, the animated tent-bar run by the associations La Ruche and Art Osons and the park’s food-truck area will take over between shows, and two potable-water sources will be installed in the park. Precise schedules, zones and rain-shelter locations are detailed on cergysoit.fr and on 13 Comme Une, the magazine of the Communauté d'agglomération de Cergy-Pontoise.
What stands out about this festival is how it turns a brand-new city into a playground for two days. The esplanades and concrete slabs—often seen as a bit chilly—become natural seating, and François-Mitterrand Park doubles as a vast communal living room.
Open-access programming also changes how people move through it: you drop into a show, you walk out after ten minutes if it’s not your thing, and you move on to the next. It’s worth a look, especially for the evening showcase and its projection on the prefecture, which gives the whole event an unexpected dimension.
This event targets families (the fairground area and shows for ages 2 or 3 and up are a real plus), curious about contemporary circus and street arts, and anyone looking to try a cultural outing without breaking the bank. Two caveats: most performances are outdoors, so bring something to keep you warm and check the forecast. And since people sit on the ground in front of the stages, a blanket or a thin cushion is the smart move.
Want to keep the momentum going? The festival PRIMO, free and itinerant between Val-d'Oise and Seine-et-Marne stays in a similar vein. And over in Hauts-de-Seine, this free street-art festival on the Parvis de la Défense offers workshops and live painting with open access.
Dates and Opening Time
From September 19, 2026 to September 20, 2026
Location
Cergy-Pontoise
3 Place Olympe de Gouges
95000 Cergy
Route planner
Prices
Free
Official website
www.cergysoit.fr
