From Lingotto to OGR, and on to international stops in New York and at London’s Barbican
Nearly twenty-five years have passed since C2C Festival was founded in Turin in 2002. At the time, it was still called Club to Club, and it stood out for an innovative formula: a single ticket granting access to multiple venues across the city, steering Turin towards a vision of community that could — and should — be experienced throughout the urban fabric.Over the years, C2C has moved beyond the boundaries of a simple music event, establishing itself as a laboratory of cultural research where electronic music and avant-pop are in constant dialogue with contemporary art, design and new forms of expression.
This trajectory has made it one of the most widely recognised events on the international scene, as well as a firmly established presence within Turin Art Week.
In 2022, the festival also introduced its new symbol: a winged figure representing the urgent need to place the body and its freedom back at the centre, together with the collective dimension of dance and listening as a cultural and social practice. It is an effective synthesis of a project that has always been oriented towards imagining the future through the languages of contemporary culture.
Its growth has been steady, including in terms of venues. From its historic season at Lingotto, the former Fiat factory, to its arrival at OGR Torino in 2017, C2C has built an increasingly recognisable identity within the global circuit of research-led festivals. This journey reached a new stage in 2025 with its arrival in New York, and will be further consolidated next October in London, at the Barbican.
Today, on the threshold of the next edition — taking place from 29 October to 1 November this year — C2C Festival is preparing to celebrate an important milestone. More than just an anniversary, the event offers an opportunity to revisit a story that has helped redefine the relationship between music, the city and contemporary culture, while once again looking ahead to what comes next.
Significant, too, is the return after eleven years to Teatro Carignano: one of Europe’s most fascinating Baroque theatres, which has hosted some of the most representative performances in the festival’s history, including the world premiere of “Kode9 plays Burial” in 2010.
The programme will be led by Robyn, marking one of the most eagerly awaited returns of recent years with her new album Sexistential. Alongside the Swedish icon, and appearing together in Italy for the first time, will be fellow Swedish artists Yung Lean and Bladee — among the most influential figures in the evolution of cloud rap.
Among the most eagerly awaited events is also the return of Arca, a symbol of avant-pop and a long-standing presence at the festival, alongside Kelela, one of the most innovative voices in contemporary R&B. Joining the line-up are some of the most influential names in the new international scene: Oklou, making her C2C debut and one of the leading figures of new European experimental pop; Shygirl, a London artist and one of the boldest, most multifaceted figures in electronic pop; The Avalanches, the Australian collective of sound-collage pioneers; and Grouper, a cult figure in experimental ambient-folk.
It is a selection that once again confirms C2C’s ability to bring together, on the same stage, some of the most influential personalities in international avant-pop — artists capable of shaping the cultural and musical trends of the years to come.
Cover image: C2C Festival 2026 © C2C Festival
