The multi-genre UPROSTŘED Festival launches next Wednesday, kicking off the summer season with a programme that runs through August. The festival breathes life into public space in central Brno and brings local communities together. It packs in 36 free open-air events – music, dance, theatre and happenings at spots across the wider city centre.
“This year’s festival discovers many additional locations beyond the very heart of the city. We will visit the park above the Water Tanks Brno in Žlutý kopec, Mendel Square, Captain Jaroš Avenue, and the terrace at UMPRUM. Various environments were put into play by the performers of the project “How to Get Properly Lost”, which came about through collaboration with the Josef K. Foundation at JAMU. But the Old Town Hall will stay on the festival map – Vinyl nesmí na sluníčko, alias DJ Romeo Green, will play several sets from the balcony of the Crystal Hall”, announced Jana Janulíková, director of TIC BRNO. This year, TIC BRNO also launched an open call, giving Brno’s creative community the chance to help shape the programme and showcase their own projects to audiences. The festival runs from 24 June to 19 August.
Just like last year, the festival will open in the early morning hours in the park on Moravian Square. “This time the opening will take place in the company of a gamekeeper, trampers, and woodland wildlife portrayed by a group of dancers and actors. The morning dance and dramatic improvisation to the sounds of a fujara will give way to an afternoon concert by the band Poutníci (Wayfarers) and an evening campfire with guitars and sausage roasting,” says Tomáš Pavčík, director of Kávéeska, which is in charge of the opening. “During the festival’s opening week, the Brno National Theatre will stage three performances of a new ballet directed by Hugo Martinez García. There will also be Opera UPROSTŘED and the popular outdoor dance events in Denis Gardens,” Pavčík adds.
Just like its opening day, the festival embraces a rich mix of genres throughout its programme. A rich, inclusive programme linking dance, musical improvisation, and original poetry readings will be offered in the park above the Water Tanks Brno by ORBITA Matce Zemi. As part of its tour, JugendBrass Leipzig, an amateur symphonic wind orchestra from Brno’s twin city of Leipzig, will take the stage at the festival. Educators from the Brno Philharmonic and the Moravian Gallery will host an interactive music workshop and a music-and-art studio for children. Audiences will be able to play a live gamebook where a narrator tells the story, a live band improvises the soundtrack, and the audience decides what happens next by voting. And in August, everyone is invited to a meeting of two prominent Brno communities (folk and jazz) for an evening full of “Moravian soul” entitled Love Letter to Brno.
The festival will close on 19 August with the event Seznam/te se UPROSTŘED (Let’s Meet in the Centre) on Moravian Square at 17:00. The square will be transformed into a Universe full of meeting places. The programme includes speed-friending (Czech group at 17:00, English-friendly at 18:45) and slam poetry, with a performance by Držgrešle, the 2025 duo slam champion. The closing concert features musician Jay Delver, whose music combines the catchiness of the 1970s, the vibe of the 1980s, and the raw energy of the 1990s. Delver is known as Brno’s Stevie Wonder and the Czech Harry Styles. Free registration opens on the festival website one month before the event.
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