RetrOpatija 2026 turns Opatija into a three-day stage for retro music, fashion and summer entertainment
From Thursday, June 25, to Saturday, June 27, 2026, Opatija will once again be marked by RetrOpatija, a major city event dedicated to music, fashion, dance, design, gastronomy and the popular culture of the last century. According to the program of the Tourist Board of the City of Opatija, this year's edition will take place at several city locations, from the Gervais Center and Slatina to Opatija's harbor, hotels, terraces, promenades and the Open Air Theatre. The festival is conceived as an open city time machine in which different decades of the 20th century are presented not only through concerts, but also through costumes, hairstyles, cars, dance, old games, fairs and themed hospitality offers.
This year too, RetrOpatija relies on a concept in which the audience is not only an observer of the program, but part of the atmosphere. Visitors are encouraged to dress in retro style, take part in dance and karaoke programs, view oldtimers, visit fair points and stroll through a city that, during the event, turns into a stage set for different musical and fashion periods. Such a format is especially suited to Opatija, a city whose tourist image has for decades been built on a combination of architecture, promenades, hotels, parks, musical events and summer gatherings outdoors.
The program expands from Gervais to Opatija's harbor
One of the central novelties of this year's RetrOpatija will be the Dress Up Corner at the Gervais Center. According to the published Visit Opatija program, it is a special retro fashion zone offering vintage and second hand clothing, fashion accessories, antiques, presentations by local designers, craftspeople and fashion brands, as well as the services of stylists, hairdressers and make-up artists. The program is conceived as a place where visitors can prepare for festival evenings, find inspiration for their own fashion combination or at least briefly play with the aesthetics of the fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties.
As part of the Dress Up Corner, a presentation on making retro cocktails under the name Hidden Speakeasy Bar has also been announced, scheduled for Thursday, June 25, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The next day, Friday, June 26, at 6:30 p.m., the program continues with the talks "Retro Talks", dedicated to fashion, style, sustainability and trends. In this way, this year's edition does not stop only at an entertaining and visual impression, but also opens the question of why the aesthetics of past decades constantly return to contemporary culture, wardrobes, music and urban events.
The musical part of the program will have several focal points. In Opatija's harbor on Friday evening, a Retro karaoke show with DJ Alex Sabattini and David Danijel has been announced. The program begins at 8 p.m. and includes performances by the children's dance group Flame, the dance group Flame and Trinity & Co. Dance Studio, after which the karaoke and dance atmosphere continues into the late hours. This part of the program relies on the simple idea that has made RetrOpatija recognizable: familiar songs, a relaxed audience, a summer evening and a space in which the boundary between performers and spectators is easily erased.
The big disco party remains the highlight of the event
In its program announcement, Festival Opatija emphasizes that RetrOpatija is a musical time machine in which swing, rockabilly, rock, jazz and disco rhythms come together. The culmination is traditionally expected at the Open Air Theatre, where The Biggest Disco Party will be held on Saturday, June 27. According to the Festival Opatija program, the start is announced for 10 p.m., and admission is free. Such a finale fits well into the rhythm of the event: daytime programs serve as an introduction, city locations create the atmosphere, and the closing evening gathers the audience on one of Opatija's most recognizable stages.
At the Small Open Air Theatre, according to program announcements, The Bestbeat – The Beatles Tribute Band will perform on Thursday, June 25. The Saturday disco program will additionally be shaped by DJ Luca Montecchi and the dancers of Trinity & Co. Dance Studio. In musical terms, RetrOpatija does not seek to reconstruct one single period, but to connect several sounds that marked the 20th century: from early dance styles and rock'n'roll to disco, pop and major radio hits.
Such a musical range explains why the event attracts different generations. For older audiences, the retro program often evokes songs, objects and styles that marked their youth, while for younger visitors it offers space for play, photography, dressing up and discovering an aesthetic they know from films, vinyl records, family albums and social networks. RetrOpatija therefore functions both as an entertainment festival and as a city event of identity, because it uses Opatija as a backdrop while at the same time restoring to it the atmosphere of public socializing in streets, squares and on terraces.
Oldtimers, Vespas, Fićos and automotive nostalgia
An important part of the program this year too will be vintage vehicles. The event announcement highlights that on Saturday, June 27, Opatija's main road will become a large exhibition of automotive nostalgia with more than one hundred cars and motorcycles. Models are expected that in themselves carry the history of design, travel and everyday life of past decades, from American classics and European limousines to Fićos, Beetles, Tomos motorcycles and Vespas. Such scenes are especially effective in Opatija, where coastal architecture, hotels and promenades easily connect with motifs of former summer holidays and seaside excursions.
The day before, on Friday, June 26, a ride by members of the Liburnija Klasik club through the city center has also been announced, with short photo stops. In this way, the oldtimers do not remain only in the role of exhibition items, but become a moving part of the city's scenery. For visitors, this is an opportunity to see the vehicles in the setting where they come most fully to life: on the streets, among people, in the slower rhythm of strolling and taking photographs.
The automotive program is also important because it expands retro aesthetics beyond music and fashion. Vintage vehicles recall the industrial design, technical solutions and social habits of a time in which people traveled differently, advertised differently and experienced leisure time differently. In the context of RetrOpatija, they are not only an attraction for motor enthusiasts, but also a visual bridge to the decades the festival seeks to evoke.
Retro for children, skaters and tennis lovers
RetrOpatija is designed as an event for several generations, and this is visible in the children's program at Slatina. According to the Visit Opatija program, Retro Playground brings games that marked the childhoods of some earlier generations: sack races, hopscotch, hula hoop, elastic jump rope, skipping rope, dominoes, marbles, bocce, making thread bracelets and decorating boats with watercolors. This program offers children the experience of play without screens, while bringing adults back to recognizable motifs of schoolyards, parks and summer holidays.
A Skate Session has also been announced at Slatina, with attractive tricks, a DJ program and a vinyl fair. The inclusion of skate culture logically broadens the festival image, because skateboarding, street fashion, vinyl records and DJ culture strongly marked the popular culture of the second half of the 20th century. In this way, the retro theme is not reduced only to the elegance of old dance evenings, but also includes urban subcultures, sporting style and musical formats that moved from garages, clubs and streets into the mainstream.
A special sporting addition to this year's program will be the Opatija Tennis Classic. According to the Visit Opatija events calendar, the tournament has been announced for Saturday, June 27, at 10 a.m. at the Opatija Tennis Club, with the idea of reviving the elegance of the thirties of the last century. White outfits, wooden rackets, mixed doubles and an atmosphere that presents tennis not only as a sport but also as a social event have been announced. Such a program fits well into Opatija's tradition of summer activities in which sport, style and socializing often complement one another.
The exhibition on Ljubo Kuntarić connects the festival with musical heritage
The cultural context of the event will be additionally emphasized by an exhibition dedicated to Ljubo Kuntarić at the Croatian Museum of Tourism. According to the announcement by the Međimurje Museum Čakovec, the guest exhibition "Falat zemlje šteri ima dušu..." is dedicated to the life and work of composer Ljubo Kuntarić, born in Čakovec in 1925 and deceased in Volosko in 2016. The exhibition is being held in Opatija from May 22 to July 5, 2026, which means it will also be open during RetrOpatija.
Kuntarić remained remembered by the public for a series of popular compositions, and he is especially important in the context of Croatian popular music and Opatija's festival history. His songs, among which "Ta tvoja ruka mala", "Autobus Calypso" and "U nedilju Ane" are often singled out, belong to a musical space that naturally continues the theme of RetrOpatija. Including the exhibition in the wider rhythm of events shows that retro is not only a costume and a dance backdrop, but also a reminder of authors, melodies and cultural moments that shaped collective memory.
The City of Opatija has also announced educational and creative programs of the Croatian Museum of Tourism in June, connected precisely with the exhibition on Ljubo Kuntarić. In this way, the festival weekend expands toward museum content and gives visitors a reason to visit cultural institutions along with concerts and entertainment. For those planning to stay longer than one evening, a practical choice may also be accommodation in Opatija for RetrOpatija visitors, especially because of the schedule that extends through daytime, evening and late-night programs.
Gastronomy and city points as part of the scenery
This year's gastronomic offer is conceived not only as an accompanying service, but as part of the overall image of the event. The Tourist Board of the City of Opatija earlier published a public call for expressions of interest for setting up and managing temporary scenographic points with a hospitality offer during RetrOpatija 2026. The call stated that the event takes place from June 25 to 27 and that business entities registered for hospitality activities are being sought. Such an approach shows that the organizer wants to align the appearance, offer and atmosphere of hospitality points with the retro theme.
According to the Visit Opatija program, within RetrOpatija at Amadria Park Hotel Continental, retro specialties and desserts, an open air cocktail bar, a DJ program and a special spritz offer have been announced. Milenij Choco Svijet on June 27 brings the Retro Antistress Choco Crash and a rich collection of retro chocolates, while at the beach of Hotel Royal a Retro Party, retro dress code and retro cocktails have been announced. Hotel Milenij is preparing retro cocktails and tapas, while Hotel Agava is preparing a cocktail show and Retro Cocktail Hour every day from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Such an offer shows that the event spreads through different levels of the city: from large stages and public spaces to hotel terraces, venues and smaller themed points. A visitor does not have to follow only one schedule, but can choose between a walk, a concert, a drink, a fair, an exhibition, a children's program or a dance evening. Precisely this dispersion is one of the reasons why RetrOpatija feels like a city event, and not only like a festival with several separate performances.
Retro fair, promenades and the summer rhythm of the city
A Retro fair has been announced at Slatina, and according to program announcements visitors can expect objects that fit into the nostalgia of past decades: antiques, books, artworks, jewelry, vintage clothing, old tools and other details with their own story. The fair segment is important because it enables visitors to experience the retro atmosphere not only through music, but also through touch, purchase, browsing and conversation with exhibitors.
In a broader sense, RetrOpatija fits into the tourist identity of a city that has long built its experience on walking, views, architecture and public events. During three days, Opatija becomes a space in which the program does not happen behind closed doors, but at locations through which people naturally pass: in the harbor, at Slatina, on the streets, by the sea and on stages. That is why the event is interesting both to those who come specifically for the program and to those who happen to be in the city during the festival weekend.
For visitors who want to follow several evening and daytime events, especially the final disco program on Saturday and accompanying activities during Friday and Saturday, it is useful to check in advance accommodation offers near the festival locations. Since the program extends across several points, staying in the city itself or nearby can make it easier to visit events without constantly relying on transport.
Opatija as a backdrop for the popular culture of the 20th century
According to the description by Festival Opatija, RetrOpatija brings together musicians, pin-up models, dancers, jugglers, street musicians, make-up artists, hairdressers, old Vespas, Tomos motorcycles, Fićos and oldtimers, while shop windows and venues become part of the scenery. This is precisely the special feature of the event: it does not try to create a retro atmosphere on one stage, but distributes it throughout the city. Each location receives part of the story, whether it is a fashion transformation, a karaoke performance, cars, children's games, a museum exhibition or an evening dance.
From today's perspective, retro aesthetics are not only a return to the past, but also a way to make public space more playful and accessible. Fashion allows the audience to participate without prior knowledge, music connects generations, and objects such as vinyl records, old cars and classic fashion accessories serve as recognizable signs of the times. RetrOpatija therefore simultaneously offers entertainment, a photographic attraction, tourist content and a reminder of cultural patterns that keep returning.
The program from June 25 to 27, 2026, has been announced as a combination of concerts, parties, exhibitions, fairs, sports programs, children's activities and themed hospitality offers. According to the information published so far by organizers and partner institutions, admission to key programs is free, while details of individual locations and times can be followed through the channels of Visit Opatija and Festival Opatija. Thus, at the end of June, Opatija will once again receive three days in which past decades are not observed from a distance, but are dressed, listened to, danced and lived in the streets of the city.
Sources:
- Visit Opatija / Tourist Board of the City of Opatija – RetrOpatija 2026 program, locations, Dress Up Corner, karaoke, children's program and gastronomic offer (link)
- Festival Opatija – announcement of RetrOpatija and The Biggest Disco Party program at the Open Air Theatre (link)
- Tourist Board of the City of Opatija – public call for expressions of interest for hospitality scenographic points during RetrOpatija 2026 (link)
- Međimurje Museum Čakovec – announcement of the guest exhibition "Falat zemlje šteri ima dušu..." on Ljubo Kuntarić at the Croatian Museum of Tourism (link)
- City of Opatija – announcement of the educational and creative program of the Croatian Museum of Tourism connected with the exhibition on Ljubo Kuntarić (link)