- Trenčín (Slovakia) opens its European Capital of Culture 2026 programme on February 13-15.
- Theme: Curiosity — connecting people, spaces, and ideas.
- Highlights include castle-based multimedia art, a literary festival, an emerging music summer festival, and the new Fiesta Bridge.
- The European Capitals of Culture programme boosts tourism, inclusion, and long-term cultural development across Europe.
Trenčín opens its European Capital of Culture year from 13 to February 15, under a theme that feels both playful and deeply needed: Curiosity.
Curiosity is not treated here as a nice idea. It becomes a guiding mechanism for bridge-building—between people, between the past and the future, and between imagination and everyday life. The programme seeks to reimagine public spaces, strengthen community relationships, and inspire creativity and innovation with an openness that feels refreshingly modern.
Trenčín, known for its historic castle, positions itself as a hub for exchange and exploration: a place where culture is not something staged “for visitors,” but something that draws locals back into their own city with new eyes.
Trenčín Highlights: Castle Art, Literary Encounters, and a New Bridge
Trenčín Castle becomes a venue for contemporary art through the multimedia exhibition The Well of Love, opening in February 2026. Created by Turkish artists, it draws from the legend of Omar and Fatima—giving the city’s historic landscape a new narrative layer without erasing the old one.
The Trenčín Literary Festival creates space for encounters with writers alongside theatre, music, and storytelling that weaves together the local and the European. This approach often becomes one of the most lasting legacies of the Capital of Culture years.
In July, Garage hosts a summer festival of emerging music, showcasing new Slovak talent through dozens of concerts that reflect the country’s current cultural pulse.
And in September, the cultural summer culminates with something both symbolic and practical: the opening of the Fiesta Bridge. This new landmark physically and emotionally connects both banks of the river. The accompanying Fiesta Festival brings theatre, music, children’s activities, and sports into a single shared space—precisely the kind of public-cultural unity these programmes aim to foster.
Oulu’s European Capital of Culture 2026 Started With a Festival Village in the Snow
In the Finnish region of North Ostrobothnia, Oulu opened its European Capital of Culture year on January 16. Oulu developed its cultural programme alongside 39 surrounding municipalities, emphasizing inclusiveness and collaboration as part of its broader European agenda. The result is a year that will involve hundreds of artists, creators, and cultural professionals—rooted locally, yet connected outward across the continent.
Oulu’s motto carries a quiet urgency: “Cultural Climate Change.” It suggests a shift in how culture is formed, experienced, and shared—an invitation to rethink cultural life at a time when Europe is navigating sustainability pressures, global uncertainty, and the need for resilience.
Among the flagship productions is Climate Clock, a series of works in which art meets science and nature to highlight environmental urgency and the passage of time. Six permanent artworks will appear across the city, along with an additional piece co-created by artists and local communities—making the experience feel less like an exhibition and more like a shared civic mirror.
Throughout the year, Risku offers a programme celebrating the traditions and culture of the Sámi people, recognising Indigenous presence in the region not as a footnote but as part of the living fabric of the North.
Another standout is Layers in the Peace Machine, an interactive media installation inspired by Timo Honkela’s Peace Machine. It uses technology and art to present peace not as a fixed state, but as a process—dynamic, ongoing, something we build rather than inherit.
Why European Capitals of Culture Still Matter
The European Capitals of Culture initiative began in 1985, shaped by an idea from Greece’s then Minister of Culture, Melina Mercouri—and since then it has grown into one of Europe’s most ambitious cultural projects.
Its power lies in transformation. Cities do not simply host performances; they reshape civic identity. Capitals of Culture celebrate diversity, engage communities, create cross-border cultural ties, and support local and regional development in ways that remain visible long after the closing events.
A recent EU evaluation confirmed what many cities already know: the programme delivers real outcomes—boosting tourism and cultural activity, strengthening social inclusion, encouraging international cooperation, and nurturing a stronger sense of community across Europe.
In 2026, Oulu and Trenčín are stepping into that tradition. And if Europe needs anything right now, it is more places willing to take culture seriously—not as spectacle, but as the warm, intelligent force that keeps societies human.
