The Bayreuth Festival is an annual music festival dedicated to the performance of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner. In Black history, the Bayreuth Festival has been both a site of exclusion and a platform for historic breakthroughs.

Historically, the Bayreuth Festival has been criticized for its connections to German nationalism and anti-Semitism, as Wagner himself held racist beliefs and his music was later appropriated by the Nazi regime. This has led to debates about the festival's legacy and ongoing efforts to address its problematic history.

However, in more recent times, the Bayreuth Festival has made strides towards diversity and inclusion. In 2001, opera singer Kwangchul Youn became the first Korean singer to perform a leading role at the festival, breaking barriers and opening up opportunities for performers of Asian descent. In 2016, soprano Golda Schultz became the first Black female singer to perform a leading role at Bayreuth, marking a significant moment of progress towards greater representation in the classical music world.

Overall, the Bayreuth Festival's history in Black history is complex, reflecting both the challenges of exclusion and the opportunities for advancement and recognition of Black artists in the classical music world.