What’s on in Bydgoszcz – 2026

The event took place at the beginning of January, featuring performances dedicated to Polish and international cinema soundtracks.

Organized annually since 2013 by the Municipal Cultural Center (MCK) in Bydgoszcz, this event is the only festival in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian region dedicated to traditional and folk music, regularly hosting prominent artists from the Polish roots music scene.

This festival demonstrates that animation extends far beyond children's films, focusing on ambitious, artistic, and auteur animated cinema from around the world.

Held at the modern Opera Nova house on the Brda River, this major cultural event attracted opera enthusiasts from across Poland and featured performances by international opera and ballet ensembles.

This festival highlights the musical achievements of percussionists, celebrating Bydgoszcz’s strong traditions and legacy in percussion music.

An international track and field athletic meet held in honor of Irena Szewińska, the legendary Polish athlete who won seven Olympic medals and ten European Championship medals.

The oldest continuously organized night marathon in Poland. Participants competed along the historic Bydgoszcz Canal parkways (Plany Bydgoskie), running past preserved 18th-century hydrotechnical locks.

The city’s largest annual water-themed festival integrated the worlds of sailors, artists, and travelers. The June program featured watercraft parades, concerts on the water, shanty music, workshops on inland navigation.

A summer series of open-air concerts held every Sunday on the Brda River in the center of Bydgoszcz, featuring a diverse repertoire from classical music to popular genres in a unique riverside setting.

One of the largest triathlon events in Poland, bringing together professionals and amateurs to compete in the very heart of Bydgoszcz.

A series of summer concerts organized every Saturday in August at 18:00 by the "Deluge" Fountain reconstruction society in Casimir the Great Park.

An open-water swimming competition held in the Brda River in the strict city center, featuring races against the river's current.

Organized since 1963, this festival is one of the most important cultural institutions in Northern Poland and a key musical brand for the Kuyavian-Pomeranian region.

A two-day celebration of travel culture featuring slideshows, photography exhibitions, and meetings with seasoned explorers. The festival jury awards the Tony Halik Statuettes for unique and unconventional travel projects.

An annual rowing competition held since 1992, where coxed eights face off in an 8.5-kilometer race along the Brda River.

An international festival for lovers of analog photography, established in 2015. It draws on Bydgoszcz’s rich photographic history, which included the Foton factory—the second-largest photographic material manufacturer in postwar Poland. The program includes exhibitions, workshops, and film screenings.

A national theatre festival organized since 2002 by the Polish Theatre in Bydgoszcz, showcasing world and national premieres. Since 2021, the festival has hosted the AURORA International Playwriting Award of the City of Bydgoszcz for outstanding contemporary drama.

The region’s largest early music festival, dedicated to historical instruments. Held over consecutive weekends in October, it presents well-known compositions as well as modern premieres of historical Polish music from the Middle Ages to the late Baroque.

A prestigious regional jazz event presenting international jazz stars alongside recognized Polish and local syncopated music artists.

Hosted by the Barock Quartet, this chamber music festival features world-renowned chamber musicians and talented young artists performing classic masterworks and contemporary compositions.

The city's largest winter event, transforming the Old Market Square (Stary Rynek) and the bridge over the Brda River into a festive space with local crafts, gastronomy, and cultural animations.