The eighth festival “ALL toGETHER CROATIA'S BEST” from May 1 to 3 returns Vukovar to the center of Croatian heritage, tourism and togetherness
From May 1 to 3, 2026, Vukovar will once again host the Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Tourist Events, Attractions and Destinations “ALL toGETHER CROATIA'S BEST”, an event that over the previous years has grown into one of the more recognizable spring happenings in eastern Croatia. This year’s eighth edition is being held on the city promenade and Republic of Croatia Square, and according to the organizers’ announcements and official festival publications, over the course of three days it should gather more than a thousand participants and several thousand visitors from Croatia and abroad. For the city on the Danube, this is not just another festival weekend, but also a strong confirmation that Vukovar is ever more confidently consolidating its position as a meeting place of culture, tradition, identity and the modern tourist experience. For visitors planning a multi-day stay,
accommodation offers in Vukovar may also be important, especially since the program takes place over all three days at several city locations and attracts a very diverse audience.
A festival that has outgrown the local framework
The project “ALL toGETHER CROATIA'S BEST” in Vukovar has profiled itself as an event that connects culture, tourism and public life, but also as an event that tries to bridge the usual boundaries between the representation of heritage and entertainment programming. The official festival website and the Vukovar Tourist Board remind us that the event was first held in 2018, in the European Year of Cultural Heritage, with a clear emphasis on presenting protected Croatian intangible cultural heritage entered on national and UNESCO lists. In the meantime, the festival has expanded its content and turned into a platform where traditional customs, tourist destinations, local and regional events, eno-gastronomic offerings, workshops for children and young people, and music and stage programs intended for a wider audience are presented simultaneously. It is precisely this multilayered character that explains why Vukovar at the beginning of May is increasingly perceived as a destination for an extended weekend, so interest may also be sparked by
accommodation for festival visitors and options for staying in the very city center or near the main stages.
Why Vukovar is a natural stage for this kind of event
The festival’s particular weight also derives from its venue. In the Croatian public sphere, Vukovar carries a strong symbolic charge, but at the same time it has for years been developing a tourist identity that goes beyond the memorial dimension and includes river cruising offers, cultural content, museums, gastronomy and city events. Official tourist announcements also place the festival within the framework of marking Vukovar City Day, which is traditionally tied to May 3, so this year’s edition also naturally fits into the broader city calendar. This means that a visit to the festival can be read in two ways: as coming to a major national showcase of Croatian heritage, but also as an opportunity to get to know a city that in recent years has been increasingly actively building a year-round model of cultural and event tourism. In that sense, for those coming from more distant parts of Croatia or from the diaspora,
accommodation offers in Vukovar may also be useful, especially if they want to combine the festival program with visits to the Vukovar City Museum, Vučedol, the water tower and other recognizable locations.
Diverse program: from BAŠTINA.HR to evening concerts
The announced festival content shows that the organizers are once again relying this year on a formula that combines a representative display of heritage and a popular public program. At the center are the programs gathered under the BAŠTINA.HR label, in which folklore groups, vocal and musical ensembles, and various forms of protected and traditional cultural practice from Croatian regions are presented. In addition, visitors can expect performances by cultural and artistic societies, singing groups, dance programs and stage content that turn the festival space into a dynamic open stage. A special part of the offer consists of eno-gastronomic presentations with indigenous dishes and wines, as well as the Eco-ethno fair with domestic products, giving the festival a strong exhibition and tourism-promotion component as well. Such a concept is important because it does not reduce heritage to a static display, but presents it as an experience that can be heard, seen, tasted and felt in direct contact with performers, craftspeople and producers.
New emphasis: the first majorette gathering in Vukovar
One of the novelties of the eighth edition is the 1st Majorette Gathering in Vukovar, which is an organizationally and symbolically interesting step forward. On the festival’s official website, this program is singled out among the application and festival contents, and in the announcement it is additionally emphasized that the Vukovar City Majorettes will host groups from several Croatian cities. In this way, the festival introduces yet another highly visible and audience-attractive segment, which is especially important because majorettes have for years formed a recognizable part of the identity of public events in Vukovar. It has been announced that on May 1, immediately before the official opening, the participants will parade from Eltz Castle to Republic of Croatia Square, where they will present their programs. Such a parade also has a broader function: it literally brings the festival into the city space and invites citizens and guests to join the event from the very beginning, while for visitors planning to follow the entire first day, information on
accommodation near the event venue may also be important.
A festival for families, children and an audience seeking the experience of the city
The festival “ALL toGETHER CROATIA'S BEST” is not conceived only as a showcase for folklore lovers or specialized audiences interested in traditional heritage. On the contrary, official announcements emphasize children’s programs, creative workshops, theatre performances, street performers and content that broadens the visitor base toward families with children and younger audiences. In such a schedule, the program “Vukovar dances” stands out in particular, turning the city’s main square into a large dance floor, with performances by dance groups and animation content. Such segments are important because they give the festival the rhythm of a public event open to everyone, regardless of age and prior knowledge of traditional culture. In other words, this is a model that simultaneously preserves a heritage identity and consciously builds the city’s event attractiveness, and that is an approach that is proving increasingly important in domestic cultural tourism.
The major patriotic concert “Voices of Memory” and the 35th anniversary of Borovo Selo
A special feature of this year’s edition is also the major patriotic concert “Voices of Memory”, announced for May 2, which will mark the 35th anniversary of the death of 12 Croatian police officers in Borovo Selo. That date carries great weight in recent Croatian history: on May 2, 1991, twelve Croatian policemen were killed, and that event is still regarded as one of the first major and most shocking turning points at the beginning of the open aggression against Croatia. The inclusion of a concert of such content in the festival program shows that the organizers have not opted only for an entertainment framework, but also for content that clearly connects local memory, national history and contemporary public expression. In this way, the festival in Vukovar remains faithful to the space in which it is held: a city where cultural events cannot be completely separated from historical awareness, but which at the same time seeks a way to express that awareness in a dignified, inclusive and contemporary manner.
The musical part of the program and young performers
The musical segment again occupies an important place this year. Official festival announcements state that this year’s edition is dedicated to “little guardians of heritage and little creatives”, and among the ambassadors, participants and finalists of popular television music formats are mentioned, including The Voice Kids Croatia. In the context of the special patriotic concert, this is not an unimportant detail, because it brings together memorial symbolism and the voice of a new generation of performers. HRT announcements confirm that the second season of The Voice Kids Croatia ended in January 2026, which gives this segment topicality and media recognizability. For the festival, this means an additional expansion of the audience: the program is no longer aimed only at those who follow the traditional scene, but also at viewers who will come to Vukovar because of young singers, evening concerts and the overall festival atmosphere. In that sense,
accommodation offers in Vukovar may be particularly interesting to families planning to stay for several days and combine the daytime and evening program.
Tourist impact and the visibility of Vukovar
From a tourism perspective, the festival has multiple functions. On the one hand, it itself attracts visitors and generates traffic in hospitality, retail and accommodation. On the other hand, through the presentation of other Croatian destinations, events and products, the manifestation actually positions Vukovar as a national exhibition stage of Croatian tourism. This is an interesting concept: the city is not just a host observing the arrival of guests, but a place through which Croatia presents itself to itself. In this also lies the event’s particular value, because during several days Vukovar becomes a condensed map of Croatian cultural and tourist diversity. Such an effect is further strengthened by the fact that the festival is held outdoors, in representative city zones, so the city space itself becomes part of the experience, and not just the logistical backdrop of the event.
Organizational support and the message of togetherness
This year’s edition is being held in co-organization with the City of Vukovar and the Vukovar Tourist Board, while the Croatian House Materina priča is listed as the bearer of the creative concept of the festival program. Financial support for the festival is provided by the City of Vukovar, the Croatian National Tourist Board, the Vukovar-Srijem County Tourist Board and Vukovar-Srijem County. Such a support structure shows that the event is not viewed only as a local happening, but as a program of broader public interest, with cultural, tourist and promotional effects. In the festival announcement, the director of the Vukovar Tourist Board, Marina Sekulić, emphasized that this year as well the event confirms Vukovar as a meeting place of Croatian tradition, culture and togetherness. That message is not merely protocolary: it summarizes the festival’s basic idea, which seeks to combine the representation of heritage, public celebration and a sense of belonging in one program open to citizens, guests and participants from different parts of Croatia and abroad.
International recognitions and the question of quality
An important part of the festival’s identity is also made up of the recognitions that the organizers highlight in public presentations. Among them is the EFFE label, the European quality label for distinguished arts festivals, awarded by the European Festivals Association on the basis of a series of criteria that include program quality, community involvement, openness and audience development. In the domestic context, the Simply the Best tourism award also stands out, awarded by relevant actors from the tourism sector. Such recognitions in themselves do not guarantee the success of each individual edition, but they show that the festival has managed to cross the boundary of a one-off event and become an event with a recognizable reputation. For Vukovar, this is important in reputational terms as well, because it confirms that the city is not merely a place of remembrance and historical symbolism, but also a space capable of organizing quality, complex and widely visible cultural-tourism programs.
What visitors can expect from May 1 to 3
According to the available information, during the three festival days Vukovar will offer a very dense schedule of events: from folklore and musical performances, through the fair and gastro section, to workshops, children’s programs, dance content and evening concerts. This means that visitors can choose between a short arrival for individual programs and a complete weekend stay in the city. Those who opt for a longer stay will be able to connect the festival with visits to city landmarks and the wider tourist offer, which is why practical questions such as transport, parking and
accommodation for visitors are also becoming more important. In any case, according to current announcements, the eighth edition of “ALL toGETHER CROATIA'S BEST” does not appear to be a content-reduced or protocolary event, but a major public manifestation that ambitiously combines heritage, music, memory, family programming and tourism promotion. That is precisely why the beginning of May in Vukovar once again has the potential to grow into one of the more visible cultural-tourism weekends in Croatia.
Sources:- Official website of the festival “All toGether Croatia's Best” – basic information about the festival, the date of holding, the concept, ambassadors and the program link
- City of Vukovar – public call for the 8th festival with confirmation of dates, locations and basic program units link
- Vukovar Tourist Board – event page with a description of the festival, its development and its connection to Vukovar City Days link
- Vukovar Tourist Board – official homepage and event calendar with the festival included among city events link
- HRT The Voice – overview of news about the second season of The Voice Kids Croatia, with confirmation of the final and the end of the season in January 2026 link
- European Festivals Association – explanation of the EFFE label and the criteria for awarding the European quality label to festivals link
- Ministry of Croatian Veterans – official reminder of the marking of the anniversary of the death of 12 Croatian police officers in Borovo and the historical context of the event link
- UHPA – description of the Simply the Best award and its meaning in the Croatian tourism sector link
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