The Tunisia Guide

Festival International de Carthage Marks Its 60th Anniversary in 2026

· 2 min read · News
The ancient ruins and columns at Carthage, Tunisia, at dusk

Contents

  1. 1.The 60th Anniversary Programme
  2. 2.The Setting at Carthage
  3. 3.Getting There and Buying Tickets

The Festival International de Carthage is celebrating its 60th anniversary with a summer programme running from 16 July to 19 August 2026. Held in the open-air Roman theatre at Carthage, the festival is one of the most celebrated music events in the Arab world and has welcomed major international artists since its founding in 1966.

The 60th Anniversary Programme

The anniversary edition features a mix of Arabic music legends and international acts. This year’s lineup includes Cheb Khaled, one of the best-known figures in raï music, alongside Grammy Award-winning singer Angélique Kidjo and The Jacksons, who are touring internationally in 2026.

The Arabic programme, as always, draws heavily from across the Maghreb and Mashreq, with artists from Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, and Tunisia performing on the main stage throughout the five-week run.

The Setting at Carthage

The theatre at Carthage seats around 8,000 spectators and dates to the Roman period. Performances take place after dark, which means the crowds arrive as the coastal heat eases and the ruins catch the stage lighting from a different angle than they do during the day.

The site sits on the Gulf of Tunis, and on clear nights you can see the lights of the capital across the water. Watching live music in a Roman amphitheatre with that backdrop is an experience that few other festival venues on earth can match.

Getting There and Buying Tickets

Carthage is easy to reach from Tunis city centre by the TGM light rail, which runs regularly along the northern coast of the Gulf of Tunis. The journey takes around 30–40 minutes from the central station at Place de Barcelone.

Tickets go on sale through the official festival website and sell quickly for headline nights. The big international acts and popular Arabic stars tend to sell out weeks in advance, so booking early matters - particularly for the 60th anniversary shows, which are expected to draw larger audiences than usual.

Our guide to Carthage covers the archaeological site, the nearby Bardo National Museum, and how to combine a festival visit with time in the ruins during the day. For a broader look at what to do across the country, the things to do in Tunisia section covers everything from the Sahara to the medinas of the north.