As a gift for the 20th anniversary of Les FrancoFolies de Montréal, this year’s program will be offering Francos fans no fewer than seven free events: five outdoor concerts, including four on the Espace Ford main stage, a very special radio show recording and a funny get together for kids!

For openers, on Thursday, July 24, at 9 p.m., Marco Calliari invites everyone to the Grande fête multiculturelle Hydro-Québec, which he will be celebrating alongside Ima, Paul Cargnello, Samian, Yves Lambert, Tomás Jensen and Nedjim Bouizzoul (broadcast exclusively over TV5 Québec-Canada).

Also, July 24 at 7 p.m., the radio host Jim Corcoran « reçoit » Michel Rivard, Karkwa, Marie-Jo Thério, Jérôme Minière, René Lussier, Marie-Pierre Fournier, Geneviève Paris, Bernard Falaise and others for the recording of a special edition of his radio show À propos de nos 20 ans that presents French artists of the world to English Canadians on CBC Radio One.

This will be followed by the Événement spécial SIRIUS Radio Satellite, presenting Michel Rivard who will be living up to his reputation and revisiting his song repertoire with a symphonic surge, accompanied by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, on Monday, July 28, at 9 p.m.

And only a few days later, on Saturday, August 2, at 9 p.m., Gregory Charles will host the Grand rendez-vous Loto Québec, a groovy soul concert — in French, if you please! — which together with a handful of surprise guests will literally transform the Francos site into a veritable dance floor (broadcast exclusively over TV5 Québec-Canada)!

The next day, Sunday, August 3, at 6 p.m., for the Grande soirée de
clôture Ford, Francos fans will have the chance to see two distinctive blockbuster events: the first, 20 ans… dans les dents !, will feature — on the Clark esplanade starting at 6 p.m. —four bands giving a thrilling foretaste of what lies ahead for the next 20 years of the Francos! Alexandre Désilets, Gatineau, Karkwa and Malajube will do more than prove their mettle as the forerunners of this promising up-and-coming generation of French-language pop rock singers and musicians (totally or partially broadcast over Radio-Canada, TV5 and ARTV).

Diane Dufresne, who invites everyone to Terre planète bleue for the Grand spectacle Ford, also on Sunday, August 3, at 9 p.m. This closing show will feature big names such as Richard Séguin, Daniel Lavoie, Pierre Flynn, Michel Pagliaro, Élisapie Isaac and Jean Lemire, and on video, Hubert Reeves (exclusive broadcast over TV5 Québec-Canada).