When France was removed from the CT in 2019 it left a baguette shaped hole in the surfing calendar. The world class sandbars around Hossegor had become a staple on the World Tour and many surfers were sad to see it go.

Since its exclusion, Quiksilver continued its tradition of playing host to a contest in the area, first by sponsoring a CS and then by organising their own surf festival for the first time last year.

And what a success that was. So much so, they are returning again this year with a hand picked lineup of 24 surfers, chosen by Jeremy Flores, who will battle it out in teams of two across numerous categories including biggest tube, air or turn depending on how the conditions look on the day.

The event, which is mobile and can operate anywhere along the Hossegor stretch depending on where the best banks are, has a window to run from 21-29 September and the team with the most points at the end will be crowned the winner.

So far the list of invitees is stacked and includes 11x time world champ Kelly Slater, Olympic Gold medalist Kauli Vaast, Clay Marzo, Coco Ho, Josh and Sierra Kerr. More are set to be announced before the event begins.

If last year’s event if anything to go by, surf fans are in for a treat. The 2023 festival was greeted with pumping conditions where square tubes reeled along perfect sandbars for a number of days. The likes of Noa Deane, Mikey Wright, Sierra Kerr, Jackson Dorian and Jeremy Flores were all on hand to deliver world class surfing.

Just like last year there will be an excuse to hit the town each night with music, parties and film premieres. Once again reaffirming why Hossegor is the place to be in late September.

While there will be no live webcast, Quiksilver will be running its daily ‘Baguette TV’ updates and we will aim to bring you reports throughout the comp.