The summer festival season in Czechia will get fully underway in July 2026. First, from 3 to 11 July, Karlovy Vary will be taken over by the jubilee 60th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. A few days later, from 15 to 18 July, Ostrava will become the country’s main festival city, with another edition of the music festival Colours of Ostrava taking place in the industrial setting of Dolní Vítkovice. Both events rank among the most prominent cultural highlights of the summer, and both are connected with the cultural platform Rockaway Arts.
Karlovy Vary 2026: a jubilee edition connecting history with the present
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival enters an exceptional edition in 2026. The festival is celebrating its 60th edition while also commemorating 80 years since it was first held. These anniversaries will be reflected in the programme, the public space and the overall atmosphere of the city.
Visitors can look forward to a special preview screening in Mariánské Lázně, where the very first edition of the festival took place in 1946. The festival’s history will also be recalled through an outdoor exhibition of thirty panels featuring photographs from its past, installed along the route between the Grandhotel Pupp and Hotel Thermal. A significant part of the programme will be the Return to the Sources section, which this year will focus on films that helped shape the festival’s history. Karlovy Vary, however, will not be merely a nostalgic look back. The jubilee edition remains a vibrant showcase of contemporary world cinema and a meeting place for filmmakers, actors, producers and audiences.
Who will come to KVIFF 2026?
In 2026, Karlovy Vary will welcome major figures from the world of film. The announced guests include Jesse Eisenberg, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Juliette Binoche, Jeffrey Wright, Harvey Keitel and Kevin Bacon. The programme will thus bring together Hollywood personalities, the European film tradition and contemporary auteur projects. Special attention also goes to Magda Vášáryová, who will receive the Festival President’s Award. In doing so, the festival will highlight her exceptional acting career and the strong connection between Czech and Slovak film history. The Slovak actress will personally present Juraj Jakubisko’s film Birds, Orphans and Fools.
A new red carpet and a more open festival space
One of the visible symbols of this year’s Karlovy Vary will be the new concept for the space in front of Hotel Thermal and a reimagined dramaturgy of the red carpet. The festival aims to make guest arrivals more open to the public, enrich them with moderated content and create a livelier atmosphere for visitors as well as viewers outside the screening halls. This work with public space is an important element of this year’s edition. Karlovy Vary does not want to be only a place of film screenings, but also a city that, during the festival, comes alive through encounters, history, debates and a shared cultural experience.
KVIFF as a year-round brand
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has long been more than just a July event. KVIFF operates throughout the year through the KVIFF.TV platform, the Tady Vary preview screening series, the Variations project with the Czech Philharmonic, and the KVIFF Talents programme. This year’s jubilee will therefore present the festival not only as an institution with a deep history, but also as a modern cultural brand that works with audiences all year round. In this way, KVIFF connects the festival experience, digital distribution, film education, talent support and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Colours of Ostrava 2026: music, discussion and the energy of Dolní Vítkovice
After Karlovy Vary, festival attention will shift to Ostrava. Colours of Ostrava will take place from 15 to 18 July 2026 in Dolní Vítkovice, one of the most distinctive industrial sites in Europe. The festival has long been built on a combination of major global music names, genre diversity, the Czech and Slovak scene, accompanying programming and the Meltingpot discussion forum. It is precisely the combination of music, debates, discovery and a unique setting that makes Colours one of the most distinctive festival brands in Central Europe.
Who will perform at Colours of Ostrava 2026?
The Colours of Ostrava 2026 programme will feature names spanning pop, electronic music, alternative music, soul and singer-songwriter work. Twenty One Pilots, Lorde, Moby, LP, Teddy Swims, Audrey Nuna and TOMORA, a project by Norwegian singer Aurora and Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers, will all come to Ostrava.
One of the anticipated moments will be Moby’s return to Czechia. Another major programming draw is TOMORA, which brings to the programme a combination of electronic energy, experimental sound and a strong authorial identity. Colours thereby confirms that it does not want to be merely a showcase of big names. The programme is also built on contrasts: between global stars and the discovery of new projects, between dance energy and more intimate concerts, and between the main stages and smaller venues.
The new Steel Stage and space for discovery
One of the main new features of the 2026 edition will be the Steel Stage. This new stage will expand the festival site with a space for singer-songwriters, folk, alternative pop and more intimate concert experiences. Alongside the large stages, it will offer a more intimate dramaturgy and a different kind of festival rhythm. Stages focused on discovery will also play an important role. The Full Moon Stage has long provided space for alternative music outside the mainstream. The Fresh Stage returns after last year’s premiere with a stronger technical setup, lighting effects and a more powerful audiovisual show. During the day, it will belong to emerging talents; in the evening, it will turn into a dance space near the iconic Bolt Tower.
Meltingpot 2026 moves to Hlubina
The Meltingpot discussion forum will once again be part of Colours of Ostrava in 2026. This year, it will undergo a significant organisational change: for greater visitor comfort, the entire discussion programme will move to the Hlubina area. Meltingpot will offer debates, lectures and meetings with figures from science, culture, medicine, technology, society and public life. For the first time, the Czech Academy of Sciences will also have its own stage, bringing topics ranging from artificial intelligence and the functioning of the human brain to disinformation and manipulation in the public sphere.
Two festivals, two worlds, one beginning of summer
July 2026 in Czechia will offer two different but equally powerful festival worlds. Karlovy Vary will celebrate film history, contemporary cinema, global film stars and the atmosphere of a spa town. Shortly afterwards, Ostrava will open the industrial site of Dolní Vítkovice to world music, debates, new discoveries and communities.
Together, they form an ideal beginning to the summer festival season: first film, encounters and the red carpet, then music, energy and four days among stages, debates and late-night concerts. For Rockaway Arts, the festival summer is also a demonstration of how major cultural brands can operate in the contemporary environment: with respect for history, an emphasis on the quality of the programme, openness towards audiences and the ability to develop the festival experience beyond the festival days themselves.