Known as ‘the Black Pearl of the Mediterranean’ due to the basalt rock it is built on, Agde is one of the oldest cities in France.
In October 2025, residents celebrated an exciting new development in their community and cultural lives with the inauguration of the brand-new Palais des Festivités, a modern and versatile facility designed to host a wide variety of arts, community, and festive events.
Replacing the city’s old festival hall, demolished as part of a wider redevelopment of the area, the main hall at the new venue has a seating capacity of 600 and can accommodate up to 2.5 times that number standing. It features acoustics designed for artistic performances and modular spaces, enabling it to adapt easily to the needs of each event.
With modularity at the heart of the brief for the sound system at Palais des Festivités, the AV and event technology specialists Texen configured and installed a NEXO system comprising left and right hangs of 6 x GEO M10 line array elements flown alongside 3 x L18 subs, and a single P8 point source speaker on each side of the stage for in fill.
Amplification and processing come from 3 x NEXO NXAMP4X2Mk2 and 1 x NXAMP4X1Mk2 Powered TD Controllers with monitoring and remote control from the NEXO NeMo app.
The GEO M10 system is characterised by pristine, high output sound in a relatively compact form factor, providing a visually unobtrusive sound system capable of performing at the highest level on a range of material from drama and spoken word, through to rock bands.
In his speech at the inauguration highlighting the strategic importance of the new venue, city mayor Sébastien Frey said: “This Palais des Festivités will offer an intermediate capacity, between the 1,300 seats at the Palais des Congrès, the 230 at the Théâtre Agathois, and here 600 seated.”
“But also, which is very interesting, 1,500 standing places for concerts, particularly for young people. This palace is for the people of Agde, so that they can come and seek a few moments of happiness.”
