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Guide to Sarajevo

Baščaršija Nights (July)

Baščaršija Nights (also known as Nights of Baščaršija, and in local language Baščaršijske noći) is the biggest culture festival in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Taking place throughout July every year, the festival exhibits various aspects of the nation’s culture. This includes performances of classical music, rock and roll, folk music, theatre, various exhibits, folklore, books, film, children programming, opera, ballet, and much more.

Performances usually take place outdoors, in the streets of Sarajevo’s Old Town district and its historic neighborhood of Baščaršija, and entrance is free. It is estimated that some 150,000 people come to see the 40–50 events held every year.

For more information, please visit organizer’s website.

Sarajevo Film Festival (August)

Towards the end of the four-year siege of Sarajevo, in 1995, Obala Art Centar initiated the Sarajevo Film Festival with the aim of helping to reconstruct civil society and retain the cosmopolitan spirit of the city.
Today, two decades later, the Sarajevo Film Festival is the leading film festival in the region, recognized by both film professionals and the wider audience. The Sarajevo Film Festival is an international film festival with a special focus on the region of South-East Europe (Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo*, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey), shining an international spotlight on films, talent and future projects from the region.

For more information, please visit organizer’s website.

Ballet Fest Sarajevo (September)

Ballet Fest Sarajevo 2018 continues the tradition of developing ballet art and presenting it to the ballet-goers. Under the auspices of the City of Sarajevo the Ballet Fest Sarajevo has a wide repertoire of quality performances, including classical, neo-classical and modern ballet, as well as premieres of leading world ballet artists. This kind of event is of great cultural significance to the city of Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, since as the youngest festival in the capital city it has been educating, enriching and inspiring audience for five years already.

For more information, please visit organizer’s website.

Theatre Festival MESS (October)

One of the oldest theatre festivals in the region, the 54th edition of MESS Sarajevo will take place from 3rd to 12th October. It will present some of the most acclaimed theatrical plays of local, European and world production. Highly acclaimed authors are expected to take part; nonetheless the festival will continue to discover new forces and support independent productions. This year’s festival will be marked by the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the First World War.

For more information, please visit organizer’s website.

Jazz Fest Sarajevo (November)

The Jazz Fest Sarajevo is an international music festival, held annually in the first week of November in Sarajevo, and is the largest of its kind in Southeastern Europe.
It has been a regular attraction since 1997, and has grown considerably in popularity. The week long event features well-known jazz musicians from around the world but also invites new and prospective artists for performances in several venues around the city. This year’s edition features Gregory Porter, John McLaughlin & 4th Dimension, Bill Frisell, HÃ¥kon Kornstad, Ibrahim Maalouf, and many others.

For more information, please visit organizer’s website.

Sarajevo Winter Festival (December/January)

During 1407 festival days, Sarajevo Winter Festival offered 4,125 programmes to more than 3.500.000 visitors and 43,000 participants. Since its inception in 1984, the Sarajevo Winter Festival kept rolling during all upcoming years, without a break. It became a symbol of life, freedom, creativity as well as a meeting point of diverse and different cultures and civilizations of the World.

For more information, please visit organizer’s website.