Split, Mostar and Bar host major summer arts festivals in July 2026
The 72nd Splitsko Ljeto festival opened on 22 July 2026 with the premiere of the original ballet project Balet³ at the Tourist‑Hospitality School venue on Marjan, featuring three 20th‑century music anthologies choreographed by Mirna Sporiš Miani, Lukas Zuschlag and Takuya Sumitomo.
On the same weekend the opera Don Carlo, Verdian masterpiece, debuted on the historic Peristil open‑air stage in Split, with director Tomislav Mužek describing the physical and emotional demands of the four‑hour performance.
In Mostar, Emir Hadžihafizbegović performed his monodrama “Sve je do nas” at the packed Hamam courtyard during the Mostar Summer Festival, using the piece to critique social manipulation and political greed.
Bar’s 39th Barski ljetopis presented the play “Blank”, adapted and directed by Kokan Mladenović from Feđa Štukan’s novel, a fragmentary theatrical concert confronting fear, nationalism and drug culture.
Rijeka’s Summer Nights featured the premiere of Pascal Rambert’s “Kazalište” on 21 July, a co‑production with HNK Split that explores actors’ personal histories after a veteran’s retirement. All events underline a lively cultural season across Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro.