Freddie Days Montreux 2026 runs Wednesday 2 September to Sunday 6 September — five free days on the Montreux lakefront, built entirely around the statue where Freddie Mercury has looked out over Lake Geneva since 1996. This edition is a double anniversary: Freddie Mercury's 80th birthday and the statue's 30th year in place, which is why the programme is bigger than usual — a photo exhibition, an official Queen-covers album launch, a steamboat parade, a silent disco next to the statue, and conferences with people who actually knew him. Here's everything confirmed so far, pulled directly from the official Freddie Days programme.
Freddie Days 2026 at a glance
Dates: 2–6 September 2026 · Location: Montreux lakefront, around the Freddie Mercury statue · Entry: free for all concerts and animations, no ticket needed · Reservation recommended for: Queen Silent Disco, Peter Freestone boat tours, Eden Palace conferences · Special ticketed events: Queen Symphony (Wed, Auditorium Stravinski) and the Official Freddie Birthday Party (Sat, Casino) · Programme now finalised — this page reflects the full official schedule as of 19 August 2026.
Short answer: Free entry, 2–6 Sept 2026 — Freddie Mercury's 80th birthday and his statue's 30th anniversary in Montreux. Full day-by-day programme.
In this guide
What are the Freddie Days?
Freddie Mercury spent his final years living and recording in Montreux, working at Mountain Studios on the lakefront — a connection the town has never let go of. In November 1996, five years after his death, Montreux unveiled a bronze statue of him at the water's edge, arm raised, facing the Alps across the lake. Freddie Days grew up around that statue: a volunteer-organised, free celebration of Queen and Freddie Mercury, held on the lawns and stages surrounding it.
2026 is a double-anniversary edition — 80 years since Freddie Mercury's birth (5 September 1946) and 30 years since the statue was installed — which is why this year's programme includes several one-off elements not typical of a normal edition: an official album launch, a statue-focused historical conference with the sculptor's family, and a large steamboat gathering timed to face the statue directly.
Full day-by-day programme
Times and venues below are as published on the official programme page as of 19 August 2026 — a week before the event, with the running order now final across all five days. The schedule can still change at the organisers’ discretion, so do one last check before you travel.
| Date | Time | Venue | What's on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 2 Sep | 10:00–15:00 | Hôtel Helvétie | Denis O'Regan photo exhibition Queen: Forever, An Intimate Portrait — runs daily through 6 Sep, free entry, photographer present in person |
| 19:30 | Auditorium Stravinski | Queen Symphony — grand opening event: the Bande-Son Orchestra with 200 singers and special guests. Partner event organised by the Montreux Cultural Season (ticketed) | |
| Thu 3 Sep | 10:30 & 13:00 | Nestlé Pontoon | Boat tours on Lake Geneva with Peter Freestone, Freddie Mercury's personal assistant of 10+ years (reservation required) |
| 11:00 & 13:30 | Eden Palace | Conference: the Irena Sedlecká Estate, Sam R.M. Geden & Jim Jenkins on the statue's 30-year history (reservation required) | |
| 12:00 | Market Square | Official opening of Freddie Days 2026, with the unveiling of the new VMCV Freddie Days bus | |
| 12:30 | Lake Stage | Zu Project (Sardinia) — acoustic opening set | |
| 14:30 | Main Stage | Iron Heart (Switzerland) — hard-rock band, exclusive Queen set | |
| 15:30 | Lake Stage | Jaroslav Bresky & Radim Linhart (Czech Republic) — piano-vocal Queen covers, doubling as the official album launch, produced with Peter Freestone | |
| 17:30 → 19:00 | Main → Lake Stage | Rock You! (France) — Queen "deep cuts" set, then Ricky Leroy Brown (Switzerland) — funk & soul | |
| Fri 4 Sep | 10:30, 13:00, 14:45, 16:30 | Nestlé Pontoon | Peter Freestone boat tours — four sailings (reservation required) |
| 11:00 & 13:30 | Eden Palace | Conference: celebrity photographers Richard & Susan Young, Freddie's driver Terry Giddings & Crystal Taylor, with Edger Hamer moderating (reservation required) | |
| 12:00 | Lake Stage | Les Toons (France) — Les Chroniques Mercuryennes tribute, then public opening | |
| 14:30 → 16:00 | Main → Lake Stage | The Magic of '86 by Lords of Queen (Switzerland) — A Kind of Magic + Wembley medley, 40th anniversary; then Peter Straker (UK) & Gabriele Baldocci (Italy) — acoustic, Straker a close friend of Freddie for 15+ years | |
| Sat 5 Sep Freddie's 80th birthday |
11:00 | Lake Stage | Zumba with Erica and Renata — warm-up to Queen hits |
| 11:00 | Eden Palace | Conference: 80 Years of Freddie — By Those Who Were There, with Etsuko Nakagawa (Japan), Isabelle Osman (France) & Martin Josephson (England), Jim Jenkins moderating (reservation required) | |
| 11:45 → 12:15 | Lake Stage | Jana Janovská (Czech Republic) — bagpipe rework of Queen, then young local talent (Switzerland) | |
| 13:00 | Main Stage | Classic Queen (Italy) — tribute band from Turin | |
| 13:30 & 15:30 | Eden Palace | Conference: Montserrat Caballé Claus, Mike Moran & Peter Freestone on the Barcelona album (reservation required) | |
| 14:30 | Freddie Statue | Musical Parade on the Lake — ~15 steamboats from across Switzerland gather before the statue, with Vulcania's Calliope, then a fleet parade | |
| 15:00 → 18:00 | Lake Stage | Iron Heart karaoke concert; then Freddie's 80th — birthday cake by Confiserie Zurcher & vin d'honneur from the Commune of Montreux | |
| 17:00 | Main Stage | 80 musicians for Freddie's 80th — Swiss Accordion Orchestra feat. Gjon's Tears | |
| 18:30 → 19:00 | Statue → Casino | The Lakeside Parade (carnival-style, to the casino) · The Official Freddie Mercury Birthday Party, Mercury Phoenix Trust (partner event) · Queen Silent Disco on the Main Stage until 02:00 (reservation recommended) | |
| Sun 6 Sep | 10:30, 13:00, 14:45, 16:30 | Nestlé Pontoon | Peter Freestone boat tours — four sailings (reservation required) |
| 11:00 & 13:30 | Eden Palace | Conference: producer Reinhold & Freddie Mack, with Jim Jenkins on the Mountain Studios era (reservation required) | |
| 12:00 → 13:15 | Lake Stage | David Oz' (France) & Flavia Costi (Belgium) — acoustic; then Don't Stop Queen Now acoustic set (UK) | |
| 14:00 → 15:30 | Main → Lake Stage | Pavel Šporcl – Blue Violin (Czech Republic) — all-Queen violin, world premiere; then Zu for Freddie (Sardinia) | |
| 17:30 → 19:30 | Main → Lake Stage | Liquid Meat (Germany) — Freddie Mack's rock'n'roll; Queen – Intimate (Argentina) — piano & voice; then Don't Stop Queen Now (UK) — closing concert |
This table covers the full programme as finalised on 19 August 2026. All concerts on the two stages are free and walk-up; only the activities marked "reservation" require advance booking.
Saturday 5 September: the birthday centrepiece
Freddie Mercury was born on 5 September 1946, which makes Saturday 5 September 2026 the exact 80th anniversary — and the day the programme is built around. The day is now a full concert programme in its own right: Zumba on the Lake Stage at 11:00, a Czech bagpipe artist and young local talent through the morning, Classic Queen from Turin at midday, an Iron Heart karaoke concert in the afternoon, and the 80-strong Swiss Accordion Orchestra with Gjon's Tears at 17:00 — wrapped around the two Eden Palace conferences on the Barcelona album and the people who knew Freddie. At 18:00 Confiserie Zurcher serves a birthday cake and the Commune of Montreux a vin d'honneur, before The Lakeside Parade (18:30) winds its carnival way up to the casino.
The Musical Parade on the Lake is the most visually striking element: the Swiss steamboat association is bringing roughly fifteen vessels from across the country, sailing in from Villeneuve to assemble directly in front of the statue at 14:30, timed with a general whistle signal before the fleet parades past the crowd, set to Queen.
Later, the Queen Silent Disco takes over the same stretch of lakefront after dark — headphone-based, multiple independent DJ channels, running until 2am. Reservation is recommended specifically because headsets are limited; booking ahead guarantees you one regardless of what time you arrive.
The Official Freddie Mercury Birthday Party at the Casino de Montreux that evening is run by the Mercury Phoenix Trust — the AIDS charity founded by Queen and Jim Beach in Freddie Mercury's memory — with Freddie Days as a supporting partner rather than the organiser. If that party is the priority for your visit, go directly to the Mercury Phoenix Trust for ticketing and access, since Freddie Days doesn't handle it.
What's free vs. what needs booking
The organisers are explicit on this point: every concert and animation on the main event site is entirely free, with no reservation or entry ticket. That covers both stages, the O'Regan photo exhibition, and the Saturday parade.
- Free, walk up: Lake Stage and Main Stage concerts, the Denis O'Regan photo exhibition, the Musical Parade on the Lake.
- Reservation recommended: Queen Silent Disco (limited headsets) and the Peter Freestone boat tours (limited seats on each sailing).
- Reservation required: the five conference sessions at the Eden Palace (Thursday's statue-history talk, Friday's celebrity photographers, Saturday's "80 years" and Barcelona talks, Sunday's Mountain Studios).
- Partner ticket events: the Queen Symphony opening concert (Auditorium Stravinski) and The Official Freddie Mercury Birthday Party (Casino de Montreux) are run by partner organisations — the Montreux Cultural Season and the Mercury Phoenix Trust respectively — and need their own tickets, not a Freddie Days booking.
Why book the optional extras at all if it's a free event? The organisers note directly that reserving the paid/limited activities is also how attendees support the volunteer-run organisation that keeps the rest of the event free and open to everyone.
Getting to Montreux
Montreux is exceptionally well connected by rail, and the entire Freddie Days site sits within a five-minute walk of Montreux train station.
- From Geneva: ~70 minutes by direct InterCity train, running every 30 minutes throughout the day.
- From Lausanne: ~25 minutes, frequent connections including late-evening departures — useful for the Saturday Silent Disco running to 2am.
- From Zurich: ~2 hours direct, hourly InterCity trains.
- From Geneva Airport: ~80 minutes via one change at Geneva Cornavin.
- By car: Motorway A9 runs directly to Montreux; arriving by train is easier on event days, especially Saturday evening.
Where to stay for Freddie Days 2026
Every venue for this event — the Lake Stage, Main Stage, and Place du Marché — sits along the same short stretch of central Montreux lakefront around the statue. Staying centrally means you can walk between the daytime conferences, the photo exhibition at Hôtel Helvétie, and the evening concerts without needing transport, which matters most on Saturday when the schedule runs from a morning conference through to a 2am Silent Disco close.
Early September sits just after the Jazz Festival and just before the Montreux Christmas Market on the town's events calendar — see our guides to both if you're weighing which week to visit. If you're a Montreux property owner wondering how a five-day, lakefront-centred event like this affects seasonal demand, our seasonal pricing strategy guide covers how to price around one-off cultural events, not just the two headline seasons.
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Looking for a Montreux apartment near the statue for Freddie Days?
RivieraHost manages apartments in central Montreux, within walking distance of the lakefront where every Freddie Days venue sits. Talk to us about availability for 2–6 September.
Check Freddie Days AvailabilityFrequently asked questions
When are the Freddie Days in Montreux 2026?
Freddie Days Montreux 2026 runs from Wednesday 2 September to Sunday 6 September 2026 — five days on the Montreux lakefront around the Freddie Mercury statue. This is a double-anniversary edition, marking Freddie Mercury's 80th birthday and the 30th anniversary of his statue.
Is entry to Freddie Days free?
Yes. All concerts and animations on the main event site are entirely free, with no reservation or ticket required. A small number of special activities — the Queen Silent Disco, boat tours with Peter Freestone, and the conferences — are offered on a reservation basis; booking supports the volunteer-run organisation that keeps the rest of the event free.
What's happening for Freddie Mercury's 80th birthday?
Saturday 5 September 2026 is the centrepiece of the double anniversary. Highlights include a conference with people who knew Freddie Mercury personally, a Musical Parade on the Lake with around fifteen steamboats gathering in front of the statue, the Queen Silent Disco running until 2am, and The Official Freddie Mercury Birthday Party organised by the Mercury Phoenix Trust at the Casino de Montreux.
Where can I stay near the Freddie Days events?
The event runs along the Montreux lakefront, centred on the Freddie Mercury statue, with venues including the Lake Stage, Main Stage, Place du Marché, and Hôtel Helvétie all within the town centre. RivieraHost manages apartments in central Montreux within walking distance of this stretch of the lakefront.
Do I need to book anything in advance for Freddie Days?
The concerts and exhibitions are open access, but the Queen Silent Disco and the Peter Freestone boat tours are capacity-limited and reservation is recommended to guarantee a spot. The conferences also require booking. Everything else — including the Musical Parade on the Lake and all Lake Stage and Main Stage concerts — is walk-up, no ticket needed.
Related reading: Montreux Jazz Festival 2026 programme · Montreux Christmas Market visitor guide · Septembre Musical Montreux-Vevey 2026 programme · Montreux Airbnb pricing strategy · Luxury travel guide to Montreux & the Swiss Riviera · Airbnb management in Montreux
Base yourself in Montreux
RivieraHost’s apartments sit steps from the lake — with kitchens, more space and better value than a hotel for families and groups. Every one is right on this guide’s doorstep.