A medieval city becomes a canvas for modern art

Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, was colored with light art for five days. The 8th 'Festival Svjetla Zagreb', held from March 18th to 22nd, transformed the entire city into a huge outdoor gallery by placing 26 light installation works in 21 locations in the city center. In this festival, hosted by the Zagreb Tourism Board, artists from five countries, including Germany, France, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Spain, participated and presented 10 international collaborative works.

Turning point in international status

What makes this year's festival particularly noteworthy is its recognition on the international stage. European Best Destinations selected 12 events out of 257 through votes from travelers around the world, and the Festival of Lights Zagreb was on the list along with the Monaco Grand Prix and the Milan Winter Olympics. Forbes also recognized the value of this festival, selecting it as the best event to visit in Europe in 2026.

Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomasevic directly mentioned these achievements at the opening ceremony and expressed pride in the festival's international growth.

Narrative of light containing an environmental message

The core theme of this festival was the environment. The opening film 'Blue Puls' took the audience underwater using 3D mapping techniques and visualized the impact of climate change and plastic on the marine ecosystem. Starting with this work produced in collaboration with WWF Adria, the entire festival was connected into one environmental narrative, concluding on March 22nd on World Water Day.

Representative works of the year

One of the most notable works is 'Z.E.T. - Zagreb Enclosure Time' by French writer Charles Pétillon. The blue tram in Ban Jelacic Square, a symbol of Zagreb, was transformed into a capsule of light filled with white balloons, expressing the narrative of memories that pass through generations through light.

The interactive work ‘Ophrys’ installed at Straussmayer Square also attracted attention. By combining artificial intelligence (AI) technology and motion detection sensors, rare wild orchids from Medvednicha Mountain bloomed in real time on the LED screen according to the movements of visitors.

‘Connected – Embraced’, a collaboration between the German art group FOL International and Daniel Margraf, projected an organically flowing liquid structure onto the exterior wall of a historic building, breaking down the physical boundaries of the building and achieving visual integration that connects heaven and earth as one.

Chronicles of Light starting in 2017

Light Festival Zagreb has grown steadily since its first event in 2017. The festival, which started at 7 locations in the old city at the time, entered the international stage by joining the 'Festival of Lights International', an international light festival network in which Berlin, New York, etc. participate, in the same year. Since then, the scale has been expanded every year, greatly increasing the proportion of international collaboration to 25 points in 22 locations in the 7th time in 2024 and 26 points in 21 places in the 8th time this year. The number of participating countries has also steadily increased, and this year, artists from five countries were responsible for about 40% of the total works.

Road from Korea to Zagreb

According to related reports, T'way Air plans to operate direct Incheon-Zagreb flights three times a week from July 2 to October 24, 2026, with a flight time of approximately 11 hours. Turkish Airlines offers daily flights to Zagreb, Dubrovnik, and Split via Istanbul, and travel via major European cities is also possible via Lufthansa or Polish Airlines.

Trams are the main source of transportation in Zagreb city. If you purchase the Zagreb Card, you can use public transportation for free and enter major tourist attractions such as the Museum of Broken Hearts and the Nikola Tesla Technology Museum for free. The city's core tourist areas are cute enough to be explored on foot, and the prices are reasonable, with a cup of espresso costing about 1.5 euros.