30 Years of ViaThea: More Than 200 Performances Planned in Görlitz

Starting Thursday, the streets, squares, parks, courtyards, and building facades of Görlitz will once again be transformed into a stage. At the 30th International Street Theater Festival “ViaThea” (July 2–4, 2026), more than 20 ensembles and individual performers will take the stage through Saturday, including groups from Germany, Poland, France, Spain, Portugal, Canada, New Zealand, and Finland. According to project director Christiane Hoffmann, a total of more than 200 performances are planned over the three days, including some in the neighboring Polish town of Zgorzelec. Admission is free at all of the approximately 20 performance venues. 

As in previous years, the festival’s anniversary edition will begin with a cultural picnic in Görlitz City Park. For the first time ever at “ViaThea,” there will be a large street parade through the city center. According to the organizers, around 180 participants will march from Postplatz to Obermarkt on Saturday. In addition to the international festival artists, local clubs, initiatives, businesses, and dedicated individuals from the region will also take part to send a message of openness, creativity, and cultural diversity, as stated. Some groups and performers will continue on to Bad Muskau on Sunday to enliven the Hermannsbad in Fürst-Pückler-Park with street theater. 

Music, Dance, and Acrobatics

With music, dance, acrobatics, puppet theater, clowning, contemporary circus, and performance art, this year’s program is once again “wide-ranging,” announced project director Hoffmann. Some artists and ensembles have now performed at “ViaThea” multiple times. For example, “Grotest Maru” from Berlin is participating for the eighth time.

Interactive formats, in which the audience is directly involved, also enrich the program. The internationally renowned group “Theater Titanick,” for example, features amateurs in one of its productions, who prepare for their performance in advance through workshops. The direct interaction between the audience and the artists is what gives “ViaThea” its special character, said Hoffmann.

The first street theater festival in Görlitz was held in 1995. “ViaThea” has long since developed into one of the best-known festivals of its kind in Germany, attracting tens of thousands of visitors every year, according to reports.