Hammamet International Festival

The Hammamet International Festival is Cap Bon's major summer festival: it has been held since 1964 in a 1,100-seat open-air theatre by the sea, in the gardens of Dar Sebastian. Its programme mixes new Tunisian theatre, contemporary dance and world music concerts. The latest edition, the 60th, ran from 11 July to 13 August 2026 under the title "Endless Memories". Dates for 2027 have not yet been published.

Dar Sebastian and its theatre

The festival's setting is a seaside estate: the villa and garden built by Georges Sebastian, a wealthy Romanian who settled in Hammamet in the early 20th century. The Tunisian state acquired the estate to create the Hammamet International Cultural Centre, now directed by Najib Kasraoui.

The theatre was built between 1962 and 1964 by architects Paul Chemetov and Jean Deroche, with stage designer René Allio, for the Atelier d'architecture et d'urbanisme, with funding from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. President Habib Bourguiba opened it on Friday 31 July 1964. The first festival began that same evening with an Arabic-language Othello directed by Aly Ben Ayed, and ran to five evenings until 16 August.

For the festival's sixtieth edition, a digital exhibition at Dar Sebastian, from 31 July to 2 August 2026, traced the building of the theatre and the great nights of its history.

The 2026 edition

The 60th edition presented 32 shows from 12 countries: Tunisia, Lebanon, Palestine, the United States, Mali, Spain, Portugal, Cuba, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria and Italy.

• Opening, 11 July: "Les Fugueuses", a new Tunisian play by Wafa Taboubi.
• Music: Dhafer Youssef, Marcel Khalife, Yasmine Hamdan, Faraj Suleiman, Gnawa Diffusion, Salif Keïta, Mariza, Bebe, Mario Biondi, Big Daddy Wilson and The Buena Vista Orchestra, among others.
• Theatre and dance: "Jacaranda", "Testostérone", "Le jardin des amants" and "Labess", choreographed by Selim Ben Safia.
• Closing, 13 August: Sofia Sadok.

Going to the festival

Hammamet is about 70 km from Tunis-Carthage Airport, an hour by road, and 35 to 40 km from Enfidha-Hammamet Airport. Our Hammamet, Nabeul and Cap Bon page covers the resort, its medina and its beaches.

Performances are in the evening. In 2026 the programme was presented on 29 June, less than two weeks before opening night, so 2027 details will come late.

Where to stay. Two hotels chosen by Sabaro are in Hammamet: La Badira, 130 suites for guests aged 16 and over on a small peninsula in Hammamet Nord, from about €115 a night for two, and the Hasdrubal Thalassa & Spa Yasmine Hammamet, an all-suite hotel with a 5,500 m² thalassotherapy centre, from about €120 a night for two. Prices checked for March 2027, breakfast included; tourist tax of TND 12 per person per night extra.

The rest of the summer. The Carthage International Festival runs over the same weeks, an hour's drive away. Our summer festivals in Tunisia guide brings the season's dates together.