Events and Festivals

This is a list of recurring events that take place during the year. It gives you and idea of what is on at a given time of the year.

For up to day events and, please see the Belgrade Foreign Visitors Club Events and Activities Calendar.

February
FEST– Belgrade International Film Festival – A well-known and popular festival taking place in late February in four Belgrade cinemas. The selection of films ranges from the latest Hollywood flicks to films from lesser-known industries across the globe, and to old masterpieces shown in the Yugoslav Film Archives (Kinoteka). Films are shown in original version with Serbian or English subtitles (inquire in advance), they are never dubbed. Prices reflect FEST’s usual friendly-rate policy and are typically around 1.5-3 euro. Check out the program and associated events on www.fest.org.yu. Guitar Art Festival – A five-day international classical guitar festival held every year since 2001. Includes practical classes and theoretical lectures held by worldwide masters of the instrument, exhibitions, a competition of young guitarists, concerts from 8PM every evening, and a midnight guitar art café every night from 11PM to 3AM. More information here.

April
Belgrade Days (Dani Beograda) – the period from April 16th-19th has been designated as the official time to celebrate the city and reflect upon its history, and every year numerous cool events take place over the four days. The program typically includes a parade through the center, an "open theater day", a "museum night", an ancient crafts fair, as well as many sports events, concerts, exhibitions, and panels. See details on the official site of the city.

May
Belgrade Sport Fest– A yearly festival taking place in late May or early June on Belgrade's Ada Ciganlija island. With over 150 sports disciplines presented and an estimated 300,000 visitors last year, it is a really fun (and free) way to spend the weekend. The festival covers: team sport, martial arts and contact sports, traditional skills, extreme sports, air sports, wheel sports, body sculpting, adventure park, indoor sports, chill-out zone, water sports, and presentations of disability sports. Details are available here.

Belgrade Festival of Erotica - http://www.hot-fair.com/

June
Theater International Belgrade Adventure (TIBA) – An international theater festival that has been taking place every year since 2003. Last year’s program included plays from Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Great Britain, Poland, Serbia and Montenegro, and Spain. Held in the first half of June. www.tibafestival.com Summertime Jazz Festival – An annual celebration of jazz music with performances typically by many international stars, usually in late June/early July. It takes place in Belgrade's Sava Center. Spirits knightly tournament– SVIBOR, the Society of Serbian Knightly Fighting, gathers lovers of medieval combat skills. They organize an international knightly tournament in the summer in Belgrade, typically in mid-June. The tournament opens with a procession of 200 knights through the city center, while the actual competition takes place in Kalemegdan’s Lower Town (area below Nebojša’s Tower). Tour de Serbie – The international cycling tournament through Serbia takes place from every year in mid-June. Race stages, teams, and other details are available here.

July
EXIT FESTIVAL Novi Sad – The mamma of all festivals in the Balkans, EXIT definitely deserves to be listed here even though it doesn’t take place in Belgrade. Four days, eighteen stages, hundreds of thousands of visitors… what more is there to say? Visit the website of the festival. Belgrade Cello Fest - an annual event for cello fans, held in early July. It includes master classes as well as concerts of world-famous cellists. The calendar and list of participants are available here. Belgrade Summer Festival (BELEF)– Held every summer, this festival encompasses a wide array of art performances and activities held through July and August across Beograd. Includes dance, drama, music, and the visual arts. Belgrade Boat Carnival– A one-day event taking place on the rivers and riverbanks of Belgrade in late July. The day program includes sailing, rowing, waterskiing, and jumping from Branko’s Bridge (Brankov Most), exhibitions take place in the afternoon and evening, there is a happy hour in the evening, and the carnival starts at 9:30 PM with 120 decorated vessels sailing by. The carnival ends with fireworks.

August
Belgrade International Theater Festival (BITEF) – An international festival of modern theater, BITEF has been the pride and joy of Belgrade for decades and is one of the few genuine expressions of culture that survived the social and political upheavals and remains a symbol of unrest and revolutionary spirit. It is held from mid-August until the end of September, and it is definitely a special treat for all fans of modern and Movement Theater. In addition to the festival itself, the theater building is an experience of its own – it is located in a reconstructed Evangelical church very near Belgrade’s bohemian quarter, and today also houses one of the city’s finest clubs, the Bitef Art Café. Dragacevo Brass Festival (Guča) – AKA "the Serbian Woodstock". Together with EXIT, this is the best-known Serbian festival in the West. It is also primarily a music festival but really much, much more, and it also takes place outside Belgrade, in a small town called Guča. And that’s where the similarities end. This is a festival of traditional Gypsy trumpet music (fans of Kusturica’s films and Goran Bregović’s music should know it well) and all the havoc that normally comes with it in Serbia – endless quantities of alcohol, enough grilled meat to feed armies, and wild dancing. Definitely an unforgettable experience of a whole town becoming one big party, but not everyone will be able to last the whole week of it. This year it takes place from 08th to 12th of August, and you can check out the festival's website for the schedule, accommodation info, and a guestbook/forum where you can find fellow foreigners to camp out with.

October
Cinemania- A yearly film festival held in Belgrade (Sava Center) and Novi Sad (Arena), showing premiers of new movies and some highlights from the past year at lower prices. Usually held in late October, with the program covering about two dozen cinematic works of art – check it out here. In Belgrade, tickets are sold in the Tuckwood movie theater (Kneza Miloša 7a), in the Belgrade ticket center (Trg Republike 5), and on the spot in the Sava Center congressional hall and movie theater (Milentija Popovića 9). Belgrade Jazz Festival (Beogradski Jazz Festival)- The 21st Belgrade Jazz Festival is held from the 27th to the 31st of October, in the Youth Cultural Center (Dom Omladine, Makedonska 22). Along with gigs of numerous international visiting musicians (including Dave Holland, Al Foster, Charlie Hunter, Vinicius Cantuaria, and Dave Liebman), the festival includes a midnight program, jam sessions, photo exhibitions, a film program, and jazz workshops. The details are available here – unfortunately in Serbian only, but you should be able to work out the program. Belgrade Music Festival (BEMUS)– Held usually in October, the BEMUS covers various classical music concerts as well as operas, choirs, presentations of traditional music, and children’s workshops. Music lovers should try not to miss at least some of the events taking place within it. The calendar and details are available &lt;a href="http://www.bemus.co.yu"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;. Joy of Europe (Radost Evrope) – an international children’s gathering organized by the Children’s Cultural Center of Belgrade, held every year early in October to mark the World Children’s Day, October 5th. Aimed at children aged 7-14. Visit their website here.

November
Golden Glove– an international boxing tournament taking place in Belgrade every year in mid-November. More info here and here.

December
New Year Fair (Novogodišnji Vašar) – Every year form mid-December until New Year's Eve, the Belgrade Fair hosts fun holiday activities, including an amusement park, concerts, food, and a full range of other Christmassy / New Year fun for kids and those who like to enjoy themselves like kids. Open morning to evening.

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