QUAI 54 returns for another edition this year at one of the most prestigious venues in French sport, Rolland Garros. An exceptional spot for an exceptional anniversary : the 20th anniversary of the world’s biggest streetball tournament.
The sporting and festive event will take place on July 1 and 2, 2023 on the Simonne-Mathieu court at Roland Garros.
Created in 2003 by Hammadoun Sidibé, Quai 54 is a must-attend event for basketball, hip-hop and street culture. With production manager Said Elouardi and director/producer Thibaut de Longeville, the event is a pilgrimage for basketball players the world over. Every year, the level of play is raised and new features are unveiled. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the organizers of QUAI 54 promise surprises to match the event’s reputation.
In terms of sport and competition, 24 teams (16 men’s and 8 women’s) made up of professional and amateur players from the four corners of the globe will face off over the 2 days. Among the teams announced are the Cape Verde national team, players from the Côte d’Ivoire national team, led by Solo Diabaté and Vafessa Fofana, a well-known figure on the French court, and a team of players from Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. For this 20th anniversary edition, North American teams will be delighting fans of show basketball, and European teams will also be present, such as Germany’s Der Stamm and England’s Midnight Madness. Two French teams have already been selected : La Fusion, the most successful team in the tournament and featuring Guershon Yabusele (Equipe de France and Euroleague Champion) and Sylvain Francisc (Equipe de France), and Mathias Lessort’s Le Cartel (Partizan Belgrade, voted in the Euroleague Major 5). Several NBA stars are also expected to take to the court at Rolland Garros.
Teams will face off in a series of knockout matches through to the final. The winners will be crowned “Quai 54 Streetball World Champions”.
For the first time, the Quai 54 finals will be broadcast on the L’Équipe TV channel on Sunday, July 2, 2023.
Another highlight of the event is the “Quai 54 Dunk Contest”, considered to be the equivalent of the World Dunk Championship. Orchestrated by Quai 54 and international dunk legend Kadour Ziani, aka “The Dunk Father”, this year’s contest will bring together 4 of the world’s best dunkers, including American Tyler Currie, winner of the 2022 edition of the Quai 54 Dunk Contest, as well as Piotr Grabowski (Poland), Chris Staples (USA) and New Williams (USA).
In terms of atmosphere and fiesta, the weekend’s sporting performances will be accompanied by an attractive musical program provided by Quai 54’s team of official DJs : Lord Issa, Just Dizle, DJ Iso, DJ Pee, DJ Nasty Nas, DJ Ou-Ma and DJ Jacks. Surprise shows, hip-hop, afrobeat and R’n’B DJ sets will take place between matches and during the evening.
There’ll also be a ringside seat for 113’s MOKOBE and basketball commentators Duke Tshomba, Jamil Rouissi and Lucas Nicot.
On the textile side, a new annual QUAI 54 x JORDAN BRAND collection will be on offer. Thibaut de Longeville, co-founder of the event and artistic director of the QUAI 54 brand, has worked closely with the Jumpman brand’s teams to bring us special limited-edition pieces. An Air Jordan 1 Low “QUAI 54” has already surfaced. It will soon be available on nike.com, along with other items due to be unveiled very soon.
The Quai 54 “20th anniversary” will take place on July 1 and 2, 2023 at Roland-Garros Stadium, on Court Simonne-Mathieu. Opening hours : 10am-10pm, with doors opening at 9am.
Ticketing will open on May 26, 2023 at 9am on the website quai54.com. 4 categories of tickets will be on sale, with prices ranging from €25 to €65. Don’t sleep and enjoy !
