a former SNCF wasteland which will host three of the main Lyon festivals

And it will start in less than a month. 12,000 festival-goers are expected in this extraordinary venue for the 21st Nuits Sonores.

Three of the main Lyon festivals, the Nuits Sonores, the Dance Biennale and the Lyon Street Food festival will take place this year in former SNCF workshops, a space inaugurated on Friday April 12 and set to become an important place of culture.

The essential music festival of the electronic scene, the prestigious contemporary art festival and the street food festival have been without an address since the closure, in 2023, of the former Fagor Brandt factories, now dedicated to tram maintenance.

A 20 hectare playground

“Les Grandes Locos”, the new name of the former SNCF workshops of La Mulatière (Rhône) at the southern entrance to Lyon, are set to become a lasting place “for the radiation (of the) major events, coupled with a fantastic playground for artists and creators“, declared the president of the Metropolis, Bruno Bernard, inaugurating the site.

Since the 19th century, the industrial site, which became an SNCF technicentre, was used for the production and maintenance of steam and then electric locomotives. In less than a month, these 20 hectares at the confluence of the Rhône and the Saône, upstream of the Chimie valley, will welcome some 12,000 festival-goers every day for the 21st edition of Nuits Sonores. The monumental hangars, former workshops as well as the outdoor spaces of the wasteland have been rented by the Metropolis for several years. They still belong to SNCF, partner of the project.

This rental allows that the place “starts in 2024“his new life, while waiting for it to be completed”a first step” of the vast development project begun last year, and which must continue at least until 2027, explained the project manager of the Métropole Rachel Mignard. At the heart of the project, the purchase of 11,200 m² of two halls dating from the 1880s must be completed in 2024 and allow the creation of a lasting place “for the influence of our major events, coupled with a fantastic playground for artists and creators“, announced Bruno Bernard.

In addition to the million euros dedicated to renting the premises, the Metropolis plans to invest 17 million euros in all of the work. A “second step” relating to the definition of an urban and economic project for the entire wasteland will take place later.