The 37th Book Festival in Brittany, which will take place on October 24 and 25 in Carhaix, has chosen a particularly popular theme this year: "Brittany, a Sporting Power / Breizh, ur vro a gar ar sport." The 2026 edition will be held under the honorary presidency of journalist and writer Georges Cadiou, a great connoisseur of the history of sport in Brittany.
Sport indeed holds a unique place in Breton society. Alongside universal disciplines such as football and cycling, there are practices deeply rooted in Breton and Celtic culture: gouren, traditional Breton wrestling, Breton athletic games like pole lifting, and Gaelic football, which is now firmly established in several cities in Brittany.
Affiche dessinée par l’illustrateur Hervé GicquelThe latter has also brought a significant sporting success to Brittany this summer. At the GAA World Games held in July in Waterford, Ireland, the French women's national team won the international first division against San Francisco. Two players from Gwened Vannes Gaelic Football were part of the victorious team, as ABP had reported at the time.
Brittany is also a major region for cycling, sailing, and paddling sports. These sports particularly shone at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Breton Nicolas Gestin, from the Canoe-Kayak Club of Quimperlé, won the gold medal in canoe slalom, while Titouan Castryck from Cesson-Sévigné took silver in kayak slalom. Rugby is also experiencing remarkable growth, symbolized by the historic promotion of Rugby Club Vannes to the Top 14 in 2024, a first for a Breton club. All these practices, whether traditional or modern, reflect the vitality of sport in Brittany and will be at the heart of the events proposed by the Festival of Books in Brittany.
The meeting is set for Carhaix on Saturday, October 24, and Sunday, October 25, 2026.
