From March 17 to 21, 2027, Zagreb will mark the arrival of spring with its Festival of Lights, a free, multi-day event that turns streets, squares, parks, tunnels and buildings across the capital into an open-air gallery. The programme combines light art, design, architecture and entertainment, with works created by artists from Croatia and abroad.
Organized since 2017 by the Zagreb Tourism Board in cooperation with the City of Zagreb and its partners, the festival has grown from seven locations into a citywide event. Its first edition attracted more than 100,000 visitors, while subsequent editions have added new locations and featured architectural projection mapping, 3D video art and multicoloured illuminations in Zagreb’s Upper and Lower towns.
The 2026 edition presented 26 light installations across 21 locations. Croatian artists including Alex Brajković, Ida Blažičko and Tina Marković contributed monumental sculptures, projections and interactive works, while international participants came from countries including Spain, France, the Czech Republic and Ukraine.
The festival has also supported artistic exchanges beyond Croatia. Zagreb has shared projects with Berlin’s Festival of Lights, including the 2022 installation Earth and Mars, which placed two large illuminated astronomical globes in prominent Zagreb locations. In 2026, Brajković and Blažičko’s installation Ophrys was selected for the Shanghai International Light Festival, where it was recognised among the event’s top 20 international projects.
Environmental awareness is another part of the programme. In 2026, the festival worked with WWF Adria on Blue Pulse, a 3D mapping projection created by German collectives Fol International and Re:Sorb. Presented at Upper Town’s Gradec Plateau, the work addressed rising sea temperatures, global warming and plastic pollution through an immersive journey into marine environments.
The installations are spread throughout the city centre and can be visited on foot, by bicycle or by public transport. The festival also offers a free mobile application with an interactive map, navigation and distance tracking, schedules, installation information and artist details.
The 2027 Festival of Lights Zagreb will again invite visitors to explore the Croatian capital through temporary works of light and contemporary art as the city welcomes the spring season.
Sources: Smithsonian Magazine.