Vukovar opened the 8th festival “ALL toGETHER CROATIA'S BEST”: three days of heritage, music, encounters and a large programme in the city centre
On Friday, May 1, 2026, Vukovar ceremoniously opened the eighth edition of the Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage, tourist events, attractions and destinations “ALL toGETHER CROATIA'S BEST”, an event that brings performers, cultural and artistic societies, tourism representatives, creatives, exhibitors and audiences from different parts of Croatia and beyond to the city on the Danube. According to information from the festival programme and statements by the organisers, this year's edition lasts from May 1 to 3, and the events take place at several locations in the city centre, primarily on Republic of Croatia Square and Vukovar's promenade. The very first day showed why the festival has grown into one of the recognisable spring events in Vukovar: the opening combined children's choirs, music schools, dance clubs, majorettes, street performers, an ethno-fair and evening concerts.
The ceremonial opening began after the majorettes' parade, which started after 4 p.m. from the baroque Eltz Castle and ended on Republic of Croatia Square. This also marked the beginning of the 1st Meeting of Majorettes and Pom-Pom Clubs, one of the new highlights of this year's festival. Alongside the Majorettes of the City of Vukovar, guests from Sinj, Glina, Rijeka, the island of Krk, Karlovac and Bjelovar also took part in the programme. The city centre was transformed into an open stage, and the choreographies, parade and joint dance-stage performance “Vukovar dances” attracted a large number of visitors and gave the opening a recognisable visual identity.
The programme “Welcome to Vukovar” began at 4:30 p.m. on Republic of Croatia Square, where Vukovar performers presented themselves. Vukovar's Little Doves, Vukovar Music School, Mambo Dance Club and vocalists Mateja Ištuk and Marta Mičić performed. In this way, the local cultural and music scene received a central place at the beginning of the festival, while guests arriving in the city were welcomed with a programme that emphasised the openness of the event and Vukovar's role as host. The director of the Vukovar Tourist Board, Marina Sekulić, said at the opening that the event welcomed guests, visitors and participants, of whom there are more than 600 this year, and expressed the expectation that the audience would enjoy a varied programme during the three festival days.
A festival that turns Vukovar into a stage of intangible cultural heritage
“ALL toGETHER CROATIA'S BEST” is conceived as an event that brings together in one place various forms of intangible cultural heritage, tourist events, gastronomic products, stage programmes, children's content and concert events. Official festival announcements emphasise that over several days in Vukovar, programmes are presented that otherwise live in different parts of Croatia, from ethno-events and gastro-events to street festivals, workshops, children's programmes and performances by cultural and artistic societies. In that sense, the festival is not only a series of concerts and performances, but also a kind of presentation of customs, skills, local identities and tourist particularities.
A special place in this year's edition is held by the BAŠTINA.HR programme, announced as the central part of the festival concept related to protected intangible cultural assets from the national and UNESCO lists. According to the published programme, on the third festival day, May 3, within BAŠTINA.HR, the children's folklore ensemble Srčeka of the Zagreb-Markovac Folklore Ensemble, the vocal ensemble LIPE from Sisak, KUD Družina from the island of Pag, KUD Punat from the island of Krk, KUD Valentinovo from Zagreb and KUD Posavka from Oborovo are to present themselves. Guest appearances by the Croatian Cultural and Educational Society Matija Gubec from Tavankut, the Croatian Cultural Association Antun Sorgg from Vajska and the Croatian Cultural Society Napredak from Odžak have also been announced.
Such a selection of participants broadens the festival story beyond the boundaries of the local programme and highlights cultural ties with Croatian communities in Vojvodina and Bosnian Posavina. The festival announcements particularly mention ethno-workshops on painting licitar hearts and painting wooden toys. These are skills connected with traditional crafts and practices inscribed on UNESCO's lists of intangible cultural heritage, and their presentation in a festival environment gives visitors the opportunity to see heritage not only as museum or archival content, but as a living practice transmitted through work, demonstration and direct contact with the bearers of tradition.
The first day was marked by majorettes, the Eco-ethno Fair, performers and the Christmas Village
After the ceremonial opening, the programme continued with the 1st Meeting of Majorettes and Pom-Pom Clubs. The Majorettes of the City of Vukovar, widely recognised for their performances at national and international competitions, performed as hosts of the meeting, while the participating groups from other cities gave the programme additional dynamism. The joint performance “Vukovar dances” showed how the festival concept can also be expanded to urban dance-stage forms, without losing the basic theme of the event: the meeting of different local identities and performance traditions.
On Vukovar's promenade, the Eco-ethno Fair opened with indigenous products from different parts of Croatia, and it will last throughout all three festival days. Such fairs are an important part of the festival because they connect cultural heritage with the products of small producers, craft skills and local gastronomy. On the first day, visitors could also follow the interactive juggling programme Chalman, which attracted the attention of different generations, especially children. Street performances of this kind give the festival a lively atmosphere and create content that is not tied only to the main stage, but spreads through the urban space.
One of the more unusual attractions of this year's programme was the Christmas Village, opened on the plateau near the Workers' Centre. The event arrived in Vukovar from Velika Gorica and brought the atmosphere of Christmas customs at the very beginning of May. Although at first glance it seems like a programme contrast to the spring festival date, the Christmas Village fits into the broader concept of presenting tourist events and attractions from different parts of Croatia. According to the announcement, visitors can visit it until May 3.
For those planning a multi-day arrival, the programme takes place at locations in the city centre, so it is practical to check in advance
accommodation offers in Vukovar, especially on the days when the festival programme overlaps with the celebration of City Day and additional cultural content. Since the main events are held on Republic of Croatia Square, the promenade and in the immediate vicinity of city locations,
accommodation near the festival events in Vukovar can be important for visitors who want to follow the daytime and evening programme without additional travel.
The evening programme combined a theatrical spectacle, Zdenko Runjić and a Dalmatian celebration
Ahead of the evening finale of the first festival day, the theatre group Vuala from Lviv in Ukraine performed on the main stage with the programme “Colours of the Circus”. Their performance brought an international dimension to a programme that is primarily focused on Croatian heritage and tourist events, but at the same time remains open to contemporary stage forms and guest artists. Such content gives the festival breadth because the traditional elements of the programme are complemented by circus, theatrical and street performances.
The first festival day was concluded with a musical homage to Zdenko Runjić, the concert “Believe in Love” performed by finalists of the show The Voice Kids Croatia. Runjić's oeuvre is one of the recognisable parts of Croatian popular music, and the concert brought the festival audience performances of songs that are widely recognised across generations. Official festival announcements emphasised that this programme was dedicated to the composer who marked the careers of numerous musical performers, especially Oliver Dragojević, but also Meri Cetinić, Tereza Kesovija and other interpreters.
After the homage, a Dalmatian celebration followed with a concert by the group Trio Gušt. The popular Split-based ensemble performed Dalmatian evergreens and local hits, and according to the original information, the programme lasted about two hours and kept the audience in an exceptionally good mood. Thus the first festival day ended in an atmosphere of entertainment and collective singing, after the daytime part of the programme that was more focused on heritage, dance, fair content and family activities.
“Voices of Remembrance” on May 2 in the spirit of the 35th anniversary of the suffering of the policemen in Borovo
The second festival day, on Saturday, May 2, 2026, carries a different tone because the evening programme is connected with the commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the death of twelve Croatian policemen in Borovo. The concert “Voices of Remembrance” has been announced for 8 p.m. on the central festival stage on Republic of Croatia Square, and patriotic songs will be performed by finalists of the first and second seasons of the show The Voice Kids Croatia. Official announcements state that the programme that day has been adapted to the anniversary, so in this way the festival connects the cultural-entertainment character of the event with the memorial context of the city and its surroundings.
Twelve Croatian policemen were killed on May 2, 1991, in Borovo, in an event that state institutions and public sources describe as one of the first and most tragic crimes in the Homeland War. According to available official information published on the occasion of previous anniversaries, commemorative programmes traditionally include a gathering at the “12 cypresses”, a parade to the memorial, the laying of wreaths, lighting of candles and a memorial Mass. In the festival context, this year's concert does not replace the commemorative character of the anniversary, but adds to it a public musical programme with an emphasis on remembrance, reverence and togetherness.
The inclusion of “Voices of Remembrance” in the festival schedule shows how the event in Vukovar is developing not only as a tourist and cultural event, but also as a programme that respects the calendar of local and national memorial dates. Vukovar is a city in which cultural programmes are often connected with the historical layers of the space, so this year's edition of the festival is also structured so that May 2 is not just another day of entertainment, but a day in which the musical programme builds on the commemoration of the suffering of the policemen in Borovo.
The third day brings City Day, BAŠTINA.HR and a concert by Danijela Martinović
The festival continues on May 3, on the Day of the City of Vukovar and the feast day of Saints Philip and James, the heavenly patrons of the city. According to announcements by the City of Vukovar and the Vukovar Tourist Board, this year's celebration has additional symbolic weight because in 2026 Vukovar commemorates 795 years since it was proclaimed a free royal city. The City Day programme lasts several days and includes cultural, sports and music content, while the festival “ALL toGETHER CROATIA'S BEST” is one of its most visible public segments.
On the third festival day, the BAŠTINA.HR programme will be especially highlighted, bringing together folklore ensembles, singing groups, cultural and artistic societies and workshops connected with intangible cultural heritage. In that part of the programme, Vukovar becomes a meeting place of local traditions, minority and emigrant cultural ties and contemporary presentations of heritage. The initiator and producer of the festival, Aleksandar Kovačević, pointed out that Vukovar has once again become a great stage of rich Croatian intangible cultural heritage and a meeting place for participants and visitors from different parts of Croatia and the diaspora.
The evening programme of the final day will be concluded by a concert by Danijela Martinović, announced as one of the main musical events of the festival weekend. Thus the festival finale returns to the large concert format, after the first two days combined majorettes, children's choirs, music tribute programmes, performers, an ethno-fair and a memorial concert. Such a schedule confirms the organisers' intention for the festival to be multilayered: at the same time a family, tourist, musical, heritage and public-memorial event.
Organisers, support and broader tourist significance of the event
According to published information from the Vukovar Tourist Board, the organisers of this year's festival are the City of Vukovar, the Vukovar Tourist Board, the agency Organisers Without Borders and the Croatian House “Mother's Story”, which is listed as the bearer of the creative concept of the festival programme. The festival is financially supported by the City of Vukovar, the Croatian National Tourist Board, the Tourist Board of Vukovar-Srijem County and Vukovar-Srijem County. The organisers emphasise that all festival content is free for visitors, which makes the event accessible to a wide audience and encourages the arrival of families, excursionists and guests who come to the city because of the programme or City Day.
In previous years, the festival gained additional visibility through recognitions and status labels in the tourism and cultural sector. Official announcements state that the event has been recognised as a TOP event of the Croatian National Tourist Board, that it received the European EFFE label for significant cultural festivals and the Simply the Best tourism award, awarded by UHPA and the magazine Way to Croatia. Such references do not change the fact that the festival is above all a locally rooted event, but they show that its model has also been recognised beyond the city level.
The tourist significance of the festival is particularly visible in the way the programme activates city spaces. Republic of Croatia Square, the promenade, the plateau near the Workers' Centre and the wider central zone become points of encounter, walking, concerts, fair offerings and performances. For visitors coming for the whole weekend, it is useful to check in time
accommodation for festival visitors in Vukovar, especially because of the simultaneous holding of the City Day programme and the expected increased interest in staying in the city. Vukovar thereby also uses the festival as a cultural postcard: over several days, visitors can get to know part of the heritage, music and tourist content that otherwise takes place in different parts of the country.
This year's edition of “ALL toGETHER CROATIA'S BEST” began in the spirit of strong attendance, a diverse programme and a clear ambition to present Vukovar during three days as a space of encounter between tradition, contemporary stage forms, children's creativity, music programmes and tourist events. After the ceremonial opening and rich first day, the festival continues on May 2 with a programme of remembrance, and on May 3 with heritage content and the final concert, rounding off an event that in the same weekend connects cultural heritage, memory, entertainment and the celebration of City Day.
Sources:- Vukovar Tourist Board – publication of the complete programme of the 8th festival “ALL toGETHER CROATIA'S BEST” from May 1 to 3, 2026 (link)- Official website of the festival “ALL toGETHER CROATIA'S BEST” – description of the event, programme concept and participants (link)- Vukovar Tourist Board – announcement of the BAŠTINA.HR programme and organisational framework of the festival (link)- Gradonačelnik.hr / City of Vukovar – presentation of the programme of the Day of the City of Vukovar and the 8th festival “ALL toGETHER CROATIA'S BEST” (link)- Ministry of Croatian Veterans – official information on the commemoration of the anniversary of the death of twelve policemen in Borovo and the historical context of the event of May 2, 1991 (link)- UNESCO – entry on the traditional manufacturing of children's wooden toys in Hrvatsko Zagorje on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (link)- Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia – data on the gingerbread craft and licitars as part of intangible cultural heritage (link)
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