Plovdiv will host the International Street Arts Festival 6Fest from April 20 to 26, 2026, turning the city into an open-air stage featuring performers from 11 countries across three continents. The program is set across public urban spaces and includes a wide range of disciplines such as circus acts, dance, music performances, acrobatics, stilt theatre and living statues.

Admission to all events will be free of charge, with the festival financed through the Municipality of Plovdiv and the National Culture Fund. Organizers note that this is the seventh consecutive year the event is included in the city’s official cultural calendar.

The opening day on April 20 begins with “Written Portraits,” an improvisational project by Argentine writer Ox Maló and Austrian musician Aron Hollinger, where literary portraits are created live for audience members, accompanied by music. Later that evening, the Burgas State Puppet Theatre will present “Burgas Glarusi,” a stilt-based street procession with a humorous narrative running through central Plovdiv streets.

On April 22, the local Dance Home school will present “Poetry in Motion,” a short contemporary dance piece enhanced by spoken word elements and live cello performance. A day later, on April 23, attention shifts to aerial performance art, with French company Mattatoio Sospeso staging “The Flying Lover” on the façade of the Youth Centre near the Rowing Base, a production that has previously toured historic landmarks across Europe.

April 24 is dedicated to circus arts. Italian performer Katastrofa clown will present a playful mix of clowning, magic and visual comedy in “Balloons,” while Cesco, working between Italy and Thailand, will bring a pantomime performance titled “Laugh – laughter is health!” focused on physical humor and movement.

On April 25, Romanian collective Creatorul presents two contrasting works: “Nightingale,” an acrobatic performance inside a cage-like structure, and “Kingdom of Petals,” a stilt show featuring elaborate floral costumes. The same day also features Taiwanese artist Chien Hung Kuo with “Zen in Motion,” a fire-based circus performance inspired by Zen philosophy, adding a meditative tone to the program.

Between April 25 and 26, Dutch troupe Frantastica will present “Heavenly Sirens,” a mythological stilt performance inspired by Greek legend, staged in multiple city locations and parades. The final festival day, April 26, opens with Bulgaria’s Dizzy Grooves & Foli Ba and their rhythmic performance “When the Drum Speaks,” drawing on West African musical traditions.

The closing program also includes living statue theatre from Spain’s The Gardeners Theatre with “Rosita,” and Greece’s Astronauts Theatre with “The Royal Peacock and Mr. Mapas,” inspired by Borges’ “The Book of Imaginary Beings,” where audience interaction shapes animated statue scenes through a chess-like concept.

Argentine-Italian group La Sambusa contributes two circus performances combining live music and storytelling, evoking seaside adventures and reunion narratives. Over the seven-day period, Plovdiv’s central streets and parks will repeatedly transform into performance spaces, as artists interact directly with audiences in an open and accessible format that organizers describe as bringing art “into the streets and among people.”