Queen Classic Surf Festival
- withitgirls
- 4 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
The Queen Classic Surf Festival, held annually in mid-September in Biarritz, France, is an inclusive and highly anticipated longboard surfing event. The 2025 festival is slated for September 12-14 and will take place on the renowned Côte des Basques beach, a legendary surfing destination on the French Basque coast.
What distinguishes the Queen Classic is its steadfast dedication to diversity and inclusion. The festival champions a pioneering spirit, welcoming surfers of all genders, sexual orientations, ages, and skill levels, thereby challenging traditional stereotypes and reshaping surf culture. It was founded in 2021 by local surfing sisters Aimée and Margaux Arramon-Tucoo and Amaya Gomis, who envisioned a more social, inclusive, and community-focused surf festival.
Beyond world-class longboard competitions, the event incorporates a rich tapestry of cultural activities. Attendees can enjoy live music, art exhibitions, and engaging discussions on critical social issues like gender and LGBTQIA+ inclusion in surfing. The participation of iconic surfers, including prominent women and queer riders, underscores the festival's progressive ethos. Furthermore, the Queen Classic celebrates Basque culture through local cuisine, artisan markets, and traditional music, drawing thousands of spectators and surf enthusiasts globally and transforming Biarritz into a vibrant hub for ocean culture and surf lifestyle.
Ultimately, the Queen Classic Surf Festival transcends the typical surf contest; it is a cultural celebration rooted in inclusion, camaraderie, and the pure joy of surfing, redefining the surf festival space- its free, its punk, and full of experiences.
Please share with our community about how this all got started and how the event has progressed over the years.
Honestly, it started because we just didn’t see ourselves represented in surf culture. We're three 90s babies who grew up in Biarritz, and the surf world we saw around us was super white, straight, and narrow-minded. Since the beginning, Queen's goal has been to flip that script: make space for queer, body-positive, gender-diverse folks in the lineup.
Surf marketing is still all about hot models selling bikinis, even though these brands literally have badass athletes on their teams. So we decided to do it our way. The festival runs over three nights and two days and hosts an international surf comp (longboard and shortboard, all genders, in teams), plus a skate contest organized by our soulmates in concrete: the Skate Her crew. They're doing for skate what we do for surf.
Nothing at Queen is for sale. We made this festival to raise awareness, celebrate community, and build connections. There are free workshops and activities everywhere—like hula hoop classes taught by Surf Hula, a queer hula-hooping surfer from Mexico who literally surfs while hooping. Hilarious and iconic.
We also added a "brasilienne" (the OG Brazilian beach game where you pass a football using anything but your hands), since we recently surf-tripped to Brazil and one of our OG surfers, Marina, is Brazilian. Add in Basque dance workshops, Mus tournaments (a traditional Basque card game), and cultural moments that let local youth reconnect with our coastline. You can even pay in Eusko, our local Basque currency.
We host reading groups (shoutout to "Sorcières" by Mona Chollet), coastal erosion workshops blending art and science with Juliette Garms and geologist Alistair Brockbank, plus Pilates and sport classes—all 100% free.
We also have some super fun and meaningful booths: 💗 Wetsuit and clothing repair by @wetsuitrepairbysolene — Solène brings your used surf gear and clothes back to life. 🔮 Tarot card readings by @venusonboard — come get your energy read in a dreamy little setting. 💅🏻 Nail bar by @houseofglitter64 — glitter, gloss, and glam. 💋 Tooth gem & makeup stand in support of a Gaza charity with @_diam.s — beauty meets activism.
And of course, the iconic Queer Surf Club runs an expression session, giving queer folks a dedicated hour in the lineup. They also throw an arm wrestling tournament in the skate ramp, which always goes OFF.
On the safety side, we collaborate with SAFER, a feminist org that sets up prevention zones and an alert app to report sexual harassment and violence. There’s a dedicated chill-out SAFER zone, and trained volunteers all over.
And finally, the parties. Three nights of music, DJ sets, drag and burlesque shows, punk bands, beach-side Boiler Room vibes... It’s joyful, sweaty, inclusive chaos. Even the security team says Queen is their favorite event of the year because the crowd is just here to dance and have fun.
Oh, and we also host Disco Queen, our very own podcast show recorded live during the festival! We’re already up to episodes 9 & 10, and it’s become a core part of the event—where deep convos meet salty air and sandy toes.
What have been some of the barriers you have had to overcome?
Money. Always money. Every year it gets harder to make it work financially. Some sponsors have had to drop out due to their own budget cuts. But thankfully, Vans has supported us since day one, and we’re super grateful.
The second challenge is time. We're a non-profit run by volunteers. We’re three co-founders and a tiny core team of six, but Queen isn’t our full-time job. Balancing it all while keeping the energy and vision alive isn’t easy. Margaux and Aimée recently launched their own furniture and architecture studio, which has been super exciting but also super demanding. Amaya, is an art director and mom of little 2,5 little girl … Juggling that with the festival is a whole other challenge. But we believe in Queen too much to stop.
Expand on your surf community and what it's like in Europe versus other parts of the world?
It used to be really tight here in the Basque Country. It still is in some ways, but with gentrification and the overexploitation of spots like the Côte des Basques, our home spot in Biarritz (where queen is hoste), it’s become super frustrating to surf.
Honestly, it’s like that everywhere now. Bali, for example, is kinda unlivable. Thousands of people are in the water every day, most of them beginners who skip surf school and jump straight in. It's chaotic and dangerous.
Another issue is that surfing has always been a rich, white sport. It’s dominated by people who can afford the lifestyle, and that comes with privilege and a lack of respect for local rules and surf culture. We're trying to challenge that through Queen—by platforming Indigenous, Black, queer, and non-sponsored surfers who shred but are rarely represented.
One cool thing about the surf scene: you always run into someone from back home, wherever you travel. November? Everyone’s in Morocco. Winter? Indo or Mexico. It’s beautiful, but also a bit exhausting. Rich people problems, lol.
We still surf (when we can). Our schedules are packed, Amaya has a baby now, and with 2,000 people in the water during summer, it gets... intense. That’s why we always plan a post-festival surf trip to Morocco—to decompress and ride waves together.
Who are some of the surfers/skaters that have participated and highlight some of the Artists, Musicians and Performers.
Sasha Jane Lowerson has joined us twice—she's the first openly trans woman to win a surf comp and was our Queen godmother. She had a huge impact on our community. One of the people she inspired is Avril, who had already started her transition before discovering Queen. She joined us as a volunteer, fresh out of the North of France, new to Biarritz and eager to start surfing. Meeting Sasha gave her a role model, a community, and a sense of belonging. Since then, she’s become a core member of the Queer Surf Club, an incredible surfer, and now—also a DJ. She’s opening our Friday night set this year!
Who also had activist dj like Barbara Butch, collectif like Maraboutage or LA Créole which both fight against racism in party’s culture.
Also this year we host @feu_magazine is a print and digital media platform spotlighting cutting-edge creativity. Focused on emerging trends in fashion, music, contemporary art, and cinema, FEU explores the rise of new identities and cultural expressions in our hyperconnected world. Founded by three siblings — Morgane, Fabrice, and Yannick Tayeau — born and raised in the Caribbean and now based in Paris, the magazine carries a unique perspective shaped by their diverse cultural roots. Every story they publish reflects that bold, global lens.🔥
As for the lineup? It’s always fire. Lola Mignot, Karina Rozunko, all the Vans girls... they keep coming back because Queen is special.
Tell us about who is behind the design + graphics (love all the creativity).
This year’s poster was made by local graphic designer Arno Labat. The rest of the visuals were created by Amaya Gomis, one of our co-founders and the festival’s art director since day one.
We make creative decisions together as a team, but Amaya sets the vibe. Over the years, we’ve collaborated with legends like Shawn Stussy, Stephen Milner, the September 00 crew, and even Karina Rozunko did the poster once. Honestly, we’ve been blessed—everyone we work with is a creative genius.
What happens after the event - are you working on different projects, such as the podcast, Queen Radio.
After the festival? We sleep. Then we surf. Then we get back to work: funding applications, permits, planning the next one.
One thing we’re super proud of is our podcast: Disco Queen. We launched it during our first edition, with local station DIA Radio and journalist Elisa Routa. Every year we record it live with an audience—feet in the sand, under the sun.
Topics? Everything from topless beach evolution in France to body image, homophobia in surf, feminism, bikinis, and activism. We invite anthropologists, pro athletes, scholars, queers, everyone. This year, we’re focusing on mental health.
Anything else?
Just this: Queen is way more than a surf comp. It’s a community, a celebration, and a rebellion. It’s free, it’s punk, it’s Basque, and it’s ours. If you love surfing, music, queer joy, art, activism, and dancing in the sand with strangers who feel like family—you should probably come next year.
Additional information
Instagram: @queenclassicsurffestival
Podcast: Queen Radio
Photo Credits: All graphics and photos courtesy of Queen Classic Surf Festival
Gallery One: @Julien Binet - 2024
Gallery Two: @Cloé Leservoisier -2024
(2) Single Photos: @Hugo Bigonet - 2024
Gallery Three: Sophie Couget - 2024
Gallery Four: @Thomas Lodin
Special thanks to Ninon Hitta from QCSF for helping all of us at withitgirl to bring this article and interviews to our platform & community.
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