Record Crowds for 67th Edition of Picadilly

On the weekend of 9-11 August 2024 The Syndicat d’Initiative Stadtbredimus held the 67th edition of its annual Picadilly wine festival at the boat lock of Stadtbredimus, with record crowds attending on the Saturday.

The Picadilly wine festival grew out of the rise in popularity in the Alsace during the 1950s of mixing cassis (blackcurrant cordial) with wine to create “Kir”, and then to the idea that it could become even more interesting if crémant were substituted for the wine. From its humble origins in the mid 1950s as a village festival designed for and by the local community, Picadilly has grown over nearly 70 years into an event which runs over 3 days, with food trucks, disco, a number of wine sellers and is attended by an army of over 10,000 thirsty visitors, not only local, but now shipped in by navette from ten different routes from the north, south, west and east of Luxembourg and running util 03:00 in the morning. Entrance is free, and the famous Picadilly itself, or other various wines and crémants of the region, as well as food, can be purchased at the various stands around the site.

Chronicle.lu caught up with the President of the Syndicat d’Initiative, Nico Vesque, who explained that the name Picadilly came about in the 1970s when a competition was launched to give a name to the festival. “Picadilly” was chosen as a play on words expressing the fizzy nature of the signature drink, which “piques” the tastebuds, and “dilly”, which signifies “slightly crazy”.

Nico Vesque went on to explain that this year, aided by the glorious weather, there were around 6,000 visitors on Friday, the main night, and a record for the day of around 5,500 visitors on Saturday. Even the Sunday “wind down” welcomed between 1,000 and 1,500 guests. For a municipality which counts around 2,000 population (including the neighbouring village of Greiveldange), this is an enormous influx, and requires huge organisation. As he put it himself, “the organisation requires a figurehead, so that’s me, but the real credit goes to all of the volunteers who give up their time every year to make this event happen!”

As well as the 67 years that the event has been hosted in Stadtbredimus, there were also two additional “Picadilly on Tour” years during COVID lockdown, thus 2025 will mark the 70th anniversary of the birth of Picadilly

President of the Syndicat d’Initiative, Nico Vesque