The celebrations of the 172nd anniversary of Leoš Janáček’s birth will take place this year ahead of schedule – on Tuesday, 23 June 2026, on the small square in front of the Janáček Theatre. The earlier date has been chosen deliberately – on 26 June, Janáček’s most celebrated composition, the Sinfonietta, will be exactly 100 years old. A packed programme offers free entertainment all day long and will mark the launch of an exclusive birthday offer of tickets for the autumn festival.
“We are celebrating Janáček’s birthday together for the third time. We first gathered on the occasion of his landmark 170th birthday, and the response from visitors showed that Janáček’s music and open public spaces make a perfect match,” the organisers say. “For the first time, we will not meet on his actual birthday this year, but on 23 June, so that we can launch summer in full swing. This year, we’ll celebrate Janáček’s birthday alongside another major milestone: the 100th anniversary of his Sinfonietta. Janáček’s actual birthday will nonetheless remain the symbolic pinnacle of the celebrations.”
As a special gift for audiences, the festival is preparing an extraordinary birthday offer for two exclusive performances of Janáček’s opera Fate (scheduled for 19 September and the festival’s opening night on 13 October 2026). Launching on 23 June, the day the celebrations begin, this limited-time offer will be available until 3 July, Leoš Janáček’s actual birthday. Details of the offer will be published on the festival’s official website and at the celebration venue itself.
The birthday programme on 23 June is built to offer room to recharge, have fun, and soak up world-class art – for all generations. The morning will belong to schools, families, and children, with the playful Vixen´s Adventure game waiting for them on the small square and in the park below the theatre.
In the afternoon, the programme moves to the steps of the Janáček Theatre, where visitors can sit and listen to chamber concerts by Lenka Kuželová, David Paša, and Josef Klíč. The celebrations wouldn’t be complete without the traditional birthday wishes and birthday cake. The visual and musical highlight of the evening will be “Janáček Outdoors” – a large-format screening of the ballet choreography set to the orchestral work Sinfonietta, created by Jiří Kylián (Nederlands Dans Theater), followed by the acclaimed production of the opera Káťa Kabanová from the prestigious Salzburg Festival (conductor: Jakub Hrůša, director: Barrie Kosky). The lead role will be sung by soprano Corinne Winters, one of the leading international stars of this year’s Janáček Brno 2026 festival.
The event is co-organised by TIC BRNO, which has prepared a special Janáček Birthday Walk as part of its summer AuthenTIC Tours. Leading Janáček expert Jiří Zahrádka will guide this walk through the city centre to the Leoš Janáček Memorial. Due to limited capacity, tickets for this walk must be purchased in advance, while the rest of the programme on the small square is completely free of charge for the public.
The festival’s milestone 10th edition will run from 13 October to 17 November 2026.
Programme (23 June 2026):
- 10:00–14:00 | Vixen´s Adventure – a game for the whole family (small square and park below the Janáček Theatre)
- 16:00–18:00 | Janáček Birthday Walk – a guided walk through the city centre to the Leoš Janáček Memorial. Meet in front of the Mahen Theatre. Guide: Jiří Zahrádka. (Part of TIC BRNO AuthenTIC Tours; tickets on sale on the TIC BRNO website).
- 18:00–19:00 | Concerts on the Steps – Lenka Kuželová & David Paša, Josef Klíč (steps of the Janáček Theatre)
- 18:00–22:00 | Janáček’s Refreshment Stand – Cocteleria Catering
- 19:00 | Birthday Wishes with Cake
- 19:30–20:00 | Janáček Outdoors – Nederlands Dans Theater: Sinfonietta (music: Leoš Janáček, choreography: Jiří Kylián)
- 20:00–22:00 | Janáček Outdoors – Large-format screening of Janáček’s opera Káťa Kabanová from the Salzburg Festival.
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