Pécs glows again July 2–5, 2026, as the Zsolnay Light Festival transforms the city’s romantic streets, squares, galleries, and a few rarely opened venues into a late‑night dreamscape. After dark, Hungarian and international artists unleash building projections and site-specific light artworks that draw crowds topping one hundred thousand, cementing the festival as the city’s brightest summer magnet.
Four Nights, One Luminous City
Historic façades are painted with light, streets unfurl glowing carpets, and the Cathedral’s monumental front becomes a living canvas for the top 3D moving-image projections from a global competition. Families and groups of friends can roam the Mediterranean-feel downtown across four nights, catching light paintings and a stack of side programs that turn every corner into a surprise.
Walk the Trail of Light
Follow the Light Path slicing through the city center to find installations that range from grand to heartwarming to downright extravagant—always stunning, always sculpted to their exact spaces. The biggest draw each year is the Zsolnay Light Art Mapping Competition, where moving, three-dimensional creations animate the Cathedral’s façade and spark the loudest wows of the weekend.
More Than Light: Street Arts, Music, Theater
The festival weaves the world of light with street performances, concerts, theater, and new-circus shows. It entertains while it teaches: interactive, knowledge-sharing events deliver fresh, creative content. The invited artists and studios—Hungarian and international—are widely recognized and lead this fast-evolving art form on the global stage.
Vasarely at 120: A Jubilant Lens
The 10th Zsolnay Light Festival lands in a special artistic context: 2026 marks the 120th anniversary of Pécs-born Victor Vasarely (Vásárhelyi Győző), and the city is dedicating the year to his legacy. Vasarely’s impact powers today’s light and digital arts, and this edition leans into that influence more boldly than ever. The selected works will illuminate Pécs’s historic streets and plazas throughout the festival, linking cutting-edge visuals to the city’s deep cultural fabric.
PLASTI-CITÉ // Colorful City
This year’s theme—PLASTI-CITÉ // Colorful City—invites a contemporary remix of Vasarely’s visual perception, geometry, and optical illusion. For Vasarely, art carried social responsibility: it should step out of elite galleries and live in everyday spaces. He argued that art is not a privilege but a communal experience and collective value, accessible to everyone. His vision of a colorful city points to a human, inspiring environment where art isn’t mere decoration but an active part of daily life—exactly what Pécs embodies for four radiant nights.
Dates and Locations
July 2–5, 2026. Multiple venues across Pécs, 7630.
