Ohrid Summer Festival

What it is

The Ohrid Summer Festival is a yearly arts gathering in the city of Ohrid, in North Macedonia. It belongs to the summer, opening on 12 July and closing on 20 August. Concerts and theatre make up the programme, and performers come from the country and from further away. In Macedonian the festival is called Охридско лето, usually written in Latin letters as Ohridsko leto. The programme mixes music with theatre, and the guest list has always been international.

How it began

The festival was founded on 4 August 1961. Accounts of its early years say it was started to help the Socialist Republic of Macedonia make its culture known, both inside Yugoslavia and abroad. Before then, cultural work in Macedonia had gone for decades with too little money, or had been overlooked by the states that governed the region, and at times put down outright. From the beginning the event attracted noted performers, among them the tenor José Carreras.

The summer programme

Each year the festival opens on 12 July and closes on 20 August, so the heart of the summer belongs to it. Concerts and theatre pieces fill the weeks, given by visitors and by musicians from North Macedonia. Soloists, conductors, chamber groups and stage companies from many countries have appeared. Among the names attached to the event are the conductor Zubin Mehta, the composer Ennio Morricone, the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and the violinists Gidon Kremer and Maxim Vengerov. Others who have taken part include the pianists Ivo Pogorelić and Mikhail Pletnev and the singers Jessye Norman and Dmitri Hvorostovsky.

Support and standing

Public money for the festival comes from North Macedonia's culture ministry, and sponsors add more. The President of the country serves as its patron. In 1994 it became part of the European Festivals Association. The roll of guests since 1961 is long, running from José Carreras to Jessye Norman and Nigel Kennedy. Its stages have hosted solo singers, instrumentalists, conductors and whole ensembles from many parts of the world over the decades.

How Ohrid Summer Festival is kept

The festival takes place in Ohrid each summer. It opens on 12 July and closes on 20 August. Concerts and theatre pieces make up the programme, performed by visiting artists and by musicians from North Macedonia. Over the years the guest list has included singers, pianists, violinists, cellists and conductors from many countries. The President of North Macedonia serves as patron, and public money from the culture ministry, along with sponsors, pays for the event.

When and where

It falls every year from 12 July to 20 August, in the middle of summer. Those dates are kept each year. The festival began on 4 August 1961, when it was founded, and it has returned on the same summer schedule since then.

The event belongs to the city of Ohrid, in North Macedonia, and that is where it is held. Ohrid is the only place named in connection with it. Performers travel there from many other countries, while the setting and the audience stay local.

What Ohrid Summer Festival means

For the people of North Macedonia the festival carries more than entertainment. Its founders meant it to bring Macedonian culture into view, within Yugoslavia and in the wider world, after years in which cultural work in the region had little support. That purpose still shapes how the festival is understood: a summer gathering that places the country's music and theatre alongside artists from abroad.

Questions people ask about Ohrid Summer Festival

See also

HıdırellezA spring festival marking the meeting of two prophets, celebrated across Turkey and the Balkans.MărțișorA spring custom of wearing intertwined red and white strings to welcome the new season.KoliadaA traditional winter caroling and solstice festival kept across Slavic EuropeGaličnik Wedding FestivalAn annual village wedding festival celebrated every July in North Macedonia

Good reading and sources

• Ohrid Summer Festival on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.