30th Cest is d’Best from May 28 to 31 once again turns the center of Zagreb into a large street stage
The international street festival Cest is d’Best will take place from May 28 to 31, 2026, in the center of Zagreb, and its jubilee 30th edition brings a four-day program to the city’s squares, parks and pedestrian zones. According to the festival’s official announcement, the program will take place on Zrinjevac, Ban Josip Jelačić Square, Cvjetni trg, in Bogovićeva, Gajeva, Praška and Tkalčićeva streets, and in the area near the Well of Life in front of the Croatian National Theatre. The organizers announce performances by street musicians, circus artists, magicians, jugglers, living statues, dance groups and theatre performers, along with workshops and programs for children. The Zagreb Tourist Board states in its announcement that the festival will be held from May 28 to 31, while the organizer confirms the schedule by days and locations on the official website. Since this is an open street festival in the city center, the program is conceived as an event in which the audience encounters performers in the immediate urban space, without the classic distance between stage and auditorium.
The jubilee edition of Croatia’s oldest street art festival
According to the announcement carried by HRT based on information from Hina and the organizer, Cest is d’Best is celebrating its 30th birthday this year and has been announced as Croatia’s oldest festival of culture and art in the street. The same announcement states that more than 500 artists from Croatia and around fifteen countries will take part in the program, making this year’s edition one of the most extensive festival programs in the recent history of the event. According to available data from the organizer and media announcements, the festival has been held continuously since 1997 and over almost three decades has become a recognizable part of Zagreb’s cultural calendar. The original announcements emphasize that during the previous 29 editions, several hundred artists from around seventy countries have performed at the festival, and their performances have been watched by several hundred thousand spectators. Such continuity is particularly important for street art because it depends on public space, the openness of the city and the audience’s willingness to take part in an event that often emerges precisely through the direct encounter between performers and passers-by.
According to announcements, the festival will include around 500 hours of different programs, including circus shows, musical performances, dance evenings, visual art content, children’s workshops and performance acts. In the program, the organizers particularly highlight circus workshops, stilt walking, juggling, balancing, face painting, living sculptures and street concerts, while part of the content is intended for families and children. This program profile preserves the recognizability of Cest is d’Best as a festival that relies not only on announced performances, but also on sudden encounters, interaction and a change in the rhythm of everyday city strolling. For visitors planning to come from outside Zagreb, it is useful to check accommodation offers in Zagreb in good time, especially since the festival finale coincides with the Day of the City of Zagreb.
The program expands from Zrinjevac to Ban Josip Jelačić Square
The official program shows that Zrinjevac will be one of the main festival centers throughout all four days. A photography exhibition of the Cest is d’Best festival, art workshops and playrooms for the youngest visitors, face painting, circus workshops and a series of theatre, magic and performance acts are planned there. On the first day, May 28, the ceremonial opening of the 30th International Street Festival Cest is d’Best is announced on Zrinjevac, followed by a concert by Kraljevi ulice. The Zrinjevac program continues over the following days as well, with children’s content, living sculptures, performances by Magic Rico Show, Circus Dreams, Galumphing, A Whole Trip, The Charming Jay and other acts. In the evening slots, Zrinjevac will also be taken over by the dance program, including a salsa evening on May 29, a rockabilly and swing program with River Sharks on May 30, and a bachata evening on May 31.
According to the official schedule, Cvjetni trg, Bogovićeva Street and Gajeva Street become spaces for street music and mobile performances. In these zones, Lutajući klavir, living sculptures, the Center for Urgent and Minor Mood Repairs, performance shows and concerts on the so-called carpet stages will appear. Among the announced performers are Swing Wings, Silverlining Collective, Marko Kutlić, Visavi, BUGI, Gabrijela Benković, Bandakadabra, Damir Vogrinec, Ajngemahtec, River Sharks, Swing That Blues and C’est la Vie, a project by Barbara Suhodolčan and Antonio Vrbički with a band. The program is scheduled from daytime slots to late evening, gradually transforming the festival area from a daytime promenade into an evening music and performance zone. Such a schedule makes it possible to follow individual events in a planned way, but also to experience part of the program spontaneously, in passing between city locations.
The tightrope walk above the main square as one of the most striking moments
One of the most prominent features of this year’s edition will be a tightrope walk above Ban Josip Jelačić Square. According to the organizer’s program, the first performance is announced for May 28 at 7:30 p.m., the second on May 30 exactly at noon, and the third on May 31 at 7:15 p.m. The original announcements emphasize that such a scene will take place in Zagreb for the first time in more than a hundred years, and above the central city square, almost above the Manduševac fountain, one of the city’s recognizable symbols. This part of the program is planned as one of the most visually attractive moments of the festival because it brings together the historic core, the main city square and a discipline that requires high concentration, technique and precision. In the program, the organizer lists the tightrope-walking performances in time slots that could attract a large number of spectators, so Ban Josip Jelačić Square is expected to be one of the most visited festival locations during those performances.
Ban Josip Jelačić Square will also have a broader program, especially in the evening slots. According to the official schedule, performance shows Una Coppia Scoppiata, Circus Dreams, Busca Busca, A Whole Trip, Cristal Circo – Tutú, Galumphing, Around the Sun and other acts are announced there, and the Great Race of Zagreb Street Cleaners with Tricycles is also scheduled for May 28. The program also includes Zagrebački bubnjari and performances by domestic and foreign dance clubs and groups. This combination of circus, music and dance content confirms that the main square will be one of the places where the breadth of this year’s festival will be most clearly visible. For the audience, it is important to expect crowds in pedestrian zones, especially in the evening hours and during attractive announced performances.
Program for children, workshops and visual art content
This year’s Cest is d’Best retains a strong family and educational character. The official program lists art workshops, drawing workshops, playrooms for the youngest visitors and face painting on Zrinjevac every day, while particular attention is drawn to circus workshops where participants can try stilt walking, juggling and balancing. In the description of the performance program, the organizer states that the circus workshops are intended for audiences older than five, with a recommendation of comfortable shoes for those who want to try stilts, and adds that props and protective equipment are provided. Such content gives the festival a participatory dimension because children and adults do not remain only observers, but can try out some of the skills they otherwise watch in the street. The educational value of the program is not imposed in a school-like tone, but arises from play, movement, balance and direct experience.
Along with workshops, the festival includes living statues and visual art interventions. The program mentions Hermione Granger, Šumska vještica and new giant characters, and the organizer presents them as interactive festival guests designed also as a visual attraction for photography. Pastelization of the Pavement is announced on Zrinjevac on May 30, and an exhibition of works within that program on May 31, which expands street art toward visual expression in public space. In Bogovićeva and Gajeva streets, portrait drawing by visual artists is also planned for the final day, with a description that evokes the atmosphere of Parisian Montmartre. In this way, alongside circus, music and dance, Cest is d’Best also retains a visual art component that is important for its long-standing festival recognizability.
Music and dance evenings as the festival’s second rhythm
The musical part of the program is spread across several city points, with Zrinjevac, Cvjetni trg, Bogovićeva Street and Gajeva Street forming the most important locations. According to the official program, on May 28, after the ceremonial opening on Zrinjevac, Kraljevi ulice will perform, while on the same day concerts by Swing Wings, Silverlining Collective, Marko Kutlić and Visavi will take place in Bogovićeva and Gajeva streets. On Friday, May 29, BUGI, Gabrijela Benković and Bandakadabra are announced, and the Vrelo program will take place near the Well of Life in front of the Croatian National Theatre. Saturday’s schedule brings River Sharks, Damir Vogrinec and Ajngemahtec with a tribute to the old masters of Zagreb chanson and popular music, among whom Ivo Robić, Stjepan Jimmy Stanić and Drago Diklić are mentioned in the program. On the final day, May 31, River Sharks, BUGI, Swing Wings, Silverlining Collective, Duo Famili 1, Swing That Blues, Visavi and a concert of French chansons C’est la Vie are announced.
The dance program forms an important part of the evening atmosphere, especially on Zrinjevac. A salsa evening will be held there on May 29, a dance evening and a River Sharks concert in a rockabilly and swing atmosphere on May 30, and a bachata evening and performances on May 31. The original text particularly emphasizes that a dance event will be organized between the festival stands on Ban Josip Jelačić Square, while Zrinjevac park, with its gastro corner and dance evenings in front of the Music Pavilion, becomes one of the places where visitors can stay longer. Although the festival is essentially street-based and mobile, the music and dance content gives it a rhythm that can keep the audience at individual locations throughout the entire evening. For those planning a multi-day stay because of the program, it is practical to check accommodation near the festival locations in advance, because most events take place in the very center of the city.
The finale coincides with the Day of the City of Zagreb
The final day of the festival, May 31, coincides with the Day of the City of Zagreb, giving the jubilee edition an additional symbolic framework. The City of Zagreb states on its official website that since 2000 Zagreb has celebrated its day on May 31, on the Feast of Our Lady of the Stone Gate, the patroness of Croatia’s capital. According to the same source, until the City Assembly’s decision in December 1999, the Day of the City was celebrated on November 16, in memory of the Golden Bull of Béla IV, by which Gradec became a free royal city in 1242. The City of Zagreb also states that a tradition from 1731 is connected with Our Lady of the Stone Gate, when the Stone Gate was caught in a great fire, while the image of Saint Mary remained undamaged. Because of this, the Stone Gate with its chapel and image became one of Zagreb’s best-known votive sites.
Precisely because of the coincidence with the Day of the City of Zagreb, the final festival day will have an emphasized public and urban character. The program on May 31 includes daytime and evening content on Zrinjevac, in Bogovićeva and Gajeva streets and on Ban Josip Jelačić Square, including the tightrope walk above the main square and evening performance acts. Such timing connects a festival that celebrates street art with a city date that has historical and symbolic significance. In practical terms, this also means that a larger number of visitors can be expected in the city center, especially if the festival program is linked with other city events and the usual marking of the Day of the City. The organizers and the Zagreb Tourist Board note that changes in times, performers and the program are possible, which is common for outdoor events.
A festival that changes the way public space is used
Over the years, Cest is d’Best has built the identity of a festival that sees city streets and squares not only as transit corridors, but as places of performance, encounter and play. A street festival of this type changes the everyday function of space: the main square, a park, a pedestrian street or a passage becomes a stage, and accidental passers-by often become an audience without any prior intention of participating in a cultural event. This is one of the main differences between street art and programs in closed cultural institutions. The audience does not necessarily gather according to a purchased ticket or a reserved seat, but according to a moment, curiosity and a sound or scene that stops them. For this reason, festival programs such as Cest is d’Best have a broader urban effect than the performance itself, because they temporarily slow the city down and encourage a different relationship with public space.
This year’s edition further emphasizes that idea with a large number of locations and a program range extending from children’s workshops to attractive acrobatic and circus performances. According to the available announcements, the program addresses all generations and relies on different forms of non-verbal, musical and visual communication, which is important for the festival’s international character. Performers from different countries often use humor, movement, rhythm, acrobatics and direct interaction, so language barriers play a smaller role than in classic stage formats. In this sense, Cest is d’Best retains a broader cultural significance: the festival is entertaining and accessible, but at the same time shows how public space can be an open cultural infrastructure. The jubilee 30th edition is therefore not just another event announcement in the calendar, but also a reminder of the longevity of a model of urban culture that has been developing in Zagreb for almost three decades.
Sources:
- Cest is d’Best – official program of the 30th International Street Festival Cest is d’Best 2026 (link)
- Cest is d’Best – program by days, locations and performers from May 28 to 31, 2026 (link)
- Zagreb Tourist Board / Infozagreb – announcement of the event 30th Cest is d best: International Street Festival (link)
- HRT / Hina – announcement of the jubilee 30th edition of the festival and data on the number of artists and participating countries (link)
- City of Zagreb – official explanation of why the Day of the City of Zagreb is marked on May 31 (link)