Each summer, the city of Montreal comes alive for the Montreal International Jazz Festival. It is one of the largest music festivals in the world and the biggest of its kind anywhere. For roughly ten days, hundreds of thousands of visitors fill the downtown streets to enjoy indoor concerts, free open-air performances, late-night jam sessions, and dance shows. The festival brings colour, energy, and warmth to residents and travellers alike. It has become one of the proudest symbols of the city's cultural life.
The modern festival was first held in 1980, though smaller jazz gatherings in the city date back decades earlier. The celebration has expanded considerably with each passing edition. Early programs drew a few thousand curious listeners, while recent editions have welcomed close to two million visitors from across Canada and abroad. Today the festival presents hundreds of concerts, the majority of them free, several of which are found nowhere else, including a giant outdoor opening show and an all-night closing performance. It takes place every year in late June and early July, at the height of the summer season.
