From 1977 until 1989, it was held at Colovray, Nyon, by Lake Geneva and had only two stages, but today it is one of the major open-air music festivals in mainland Europe and the biggest in Switzerland.

The festival lasts six days at the end of July, from Tuesday to Sunday, and the final main stage concert is preceded by a great firework display with music.

Special offers are available usually as early as November of the year preceding the next Paléo festival with discounted all-week passes.

The lineup used to be revealed on a late April Wednesday at noon, following which, both tickets and passes would sell out within days.

In 2005, the following world-renowned artists participated at the Paléo (among many others): That year was considered very successful, with a cool but clear weather for most of the week (except some short showers on Sunday).

Asia was the region invited to the Village du Monde, including China, Tibet, Nepal, Vietnam, Thailand and Japan.

Paléo took place from 18 to 23 July 2006 with the following artists: Eastern Europe hosted the Village du Monde.

Below list includes some of the musicians who performed during the concert: India was the region invited to the Village du Monde.

Some of the performing artists included: The Motto for the Village du Monde was Southern Africa.

The following list includes some of the acts that were confirmed on the 5th of April: The Motto for the Village du Monde was the Caribbean.