Ypres theater festival ‘De Winged City’ celebrates 20th edition

The Winged City of Ypres is an international promotional festival for circus and street theatre. During this festival, founded by Kurt Demey, Frank Poelvoorde and Jan Victoor, artists from the Netherlands and abroad show their latest acts to organisers, promoters and the public.

EDITION 2023

For this 20th edition in 2023, the organization received more than 300 registrations from artists from all over the world. In the end, 63 groups from 14 different countries were selected to play during the festival.

This year the festival is divided into three zones. A first zone is mainly situated around the Le Touquet Park, with an emphasis on the Eigenheerdstraat, where the three schools receive a full festival programme. A second area is the fortress area, from the Esplanade to the Zaalhof. Finally, the city center forms the third zone with artists on the Grote Markt, in the Janseniusstraat, in the Astridpark and at the Lapidarium. All zones are used over the three days.

Although the festival mainly focuses on art forms that can take place in public space, the organization chooses for some acts to place them directly in an indoor location due to the unpredictable weather or the intimacy of the performance. For example, there are performances in CC Het Perron and in the Chapter Hall of the Ypres Cathedral.