Rencontres internationales de cerfs-volants de Berck, Kite festival in Berck-sur-Mer, France.

The Rencontres internationales de cerfs-volants de Berck fill the beach for a week each April with several thousand kites, from small white tails and blue-edged parafoils to a large orange-and-black kite flown low over the sand. The event began in 1987 and has grown into a gathering of hundreds of kite flyers from around the world.

In 1887 photographers Émile Wenz, Amédée Delcourt, Georges Beau and Henri Chardon came to Berck to take pictures of the town from the sky using kites. The first Rencontres internationales were organised in 1987 by Belgian kite-photography enthusiasts Michel Dusariez and Geoffroy de Beauffort, to mark the centenary of that first aerial photograph. The 2022 edition drew 400 invited kite flyers and a record 800,000 visitors.

The festival displays traditional kite-making methods from many countries, and visitors can learn from international artisans how regional designs and techniques work.

The beach is easy to reach from the town center, and parking areas are available nearby for visitors arriving by car. During the ten-day event, conditions are best on sunny days with moderate breezes.

The first Berck gatherings were organised in 1987 by two Belgian kite-aerial-photography enthusiasts, Michel Dusariez and Geoffroy de Beauffort, to mark the centenary of the first aerial photograph taken by kite, which had been made at Berck in 1887 by photographers such as Émile Wenz. The 2022 edition drew 400 invited kite flyers and a record 800,000 visitors.