The Saumur International Festival of Military Bands is a bi-annual event organized in the French city of Saumur by the Standing Committee of City Celebrations. The festival acts as a military tattoo, bringing military bands from the French Armed Forces and foreign countries. In 1985, it was conceived to switch the annual flower parade in the city with a festival of military music. Placed under the patronage of the French and foreign authorities (both in the civil and military sphere) the festival has since invited many countries since its creation. It usually takes place over the course of one weekend in the summer.[1] [2] [3] [4]
In 2019, Lieutenant Léa Nzoufa Nze from the Armed Forces of Gabon became the first woman to conduct a military band at the festival.[8]