Each year, the city of Aurillac declares itself "open city" to all the "street artists" asking to perform in Aurillac in August during the 4 days of the "International Street Theatre Festival of Aurillac".
In 2011, for the 26th festival, 597 companies gathered in Aurillac with 698 different shows. Now, the originality of this event turns the Rendez vous of the "off" companies into a great fair of the street theatre, in other words: a special event of artistic creation, research and circulation !
As time goes on, the constant increasing number of artists and companies, called "compagnies de passage" required to organize public space and its occupancy during the festival.
The Association Eclat, producer of the International Street Theatre Festival of Aurillac, had to put in place an "office of the compagnies de passage" in order to define the places and time of the artistic meetings and inform the public about them.