Ten years after the streets of Pécs first lit up with the magic of contemporary light art, the 10th anniversary edition of the Zsolnay Light Festival is bigger and more spectacular than ever before: over four nights from July 2 to 5, it will bathe the city in light with more than thirty installations. Moreover, its theme pays tribute to Pécs’s world-famous native son, Victor Vasarely, as part of the Vasarely Memorial Year.
The event has grown into one of Europe’s most spectacular urban festivals, attracting more than 100,000 visitors each year. The 2026 anniversary edition will mark two exceptional milestones: Pécs native and father of optical art, Victor Vasarely 120th anniversary of his birthare commemorating him, and the Vasarely Museum in Pécs is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
This year's theme for the Light Festival is therefore Vasarely PLASTI-CITÉ // COLORFUL CITY its concept—which invites visitors into the world of optical illusions and the sensory experience of movement, space, and light.
The cathedral's facade is the festival's largest screen
The most anticipated event of the festival, the Zsolnay Light Art Video Mapping Competition every evening, the facade of Pécs Cathedral is transformed into a canvas of light. This year, artists from Italy, China, and Bulgaria are competing for the public’s votes—their works are imbued with a visual style inspired by Vasarely’s op-art legacy. In addition to the competition, a special work will also make its debut: as part of the Irish focus program, the Kiégő Izzók team will pay tribute to the life’s work of Ferenc Martyn with a tribute screening.
The Path of Light: More Than 30 Stops at the Edge of Imagination
The Path of Light, the centerpiece of the festival, features 15 venues in the city center and 19 in the Zsolnay Quarter, where visitors can discover works by Hungarian and international light artists.
The Zsolnay Quarter and the Kodály Center will be the festival’s main venues this year, the entire area the Light Festival MAX becomes part of it. The venues accessible with the wristband feature the festival’s most exciting installations; the interactive and immersive works offer such a rich experience that they can easily fill an entire evening. A taste of what’s to come:
Where Soul and Light Meet at the Kodály Center: The Latvian Those Guys Lighting his team will bring the Divine Geometry, that is Divine Geometry titled art. This essential light show, accompanied by a unique 30-minute soundscape created by 24 lasers, is so captivating that at previous performances spectators moved the crowd to tears.
At the waterfall woven from light by the Spanish artist Marc Vilanova visitors can walk through the Zsolnay Quarter Lab, while in E78, the Playmodes team uses laser beams and robotic mirrors to create dynamic, floating light sculptures. The installation on display in the Pirogránit courtyard of the Zsolnay Quarter Vasarely brings his op-art legacy into three-dimensional space, a geometric illusion that constantly shifts with the viewer’s movement invites active participation—movement and discovery.
A unique exhibition is debuting within the walls of the m21 Gallery: the Hommage á Vasarely by light the light art exhibition titled marks a milestone in the festival’s history. This is the first time an exhibition has been created that extends beyond the event itself and spans the entire summer, allowing visitors to experience this unique visual journey at any time until the end of August. In addition, young, up-and-coming artists from the Light Art Colony will also be presenting their works in the Zsolnay Quarter.
The city center’s iconic squares are also being transformed: At the Cella Septichora Visitor Center, a a pulsating creature trapped inside a glass cube struggles to escape...like a kind of digital organism.
Széchenyi Square is monumental 360-degree light painting envelops the area, and the festival’s mascot, the Pixel Bug. Inside Árkád, technology and nature come together: on a giant LED wall, the the memory of water.
Back to the Back to the hippie era of the ’70s! The Színház Square, New York’s Liquid Light Lab brings back the legendary analog light shows of that era. Imagine Kandinsky’s colors, the vibrancy of Jimi Hendrix and early Pink Floyd concerts—this floating, sensory universe will captivate visitors over four evenings. The Path of Light station at Színház Square is part of the USA250 commemorations. DJs from Tilos Radio will crank the atmosphere up to the max: this isn’t just a projection, but a shared, psychedelic journey into the realm of light.
According to Vasarely’s philosophy, art is a common language that, once it steps outside the confines of exhibition spaces, must become part of everyday life. This resonates with the concept of The Path of Light: it transforms urban space into an open gallery where, through interactive installations, visitors themselves become part of the creative process and the communal experience, said Márk Hummel, managing director of Zsolnay Heritage Management Ltd., the festival’s organizer.
More Than Light: Street Theater and Celebration
In addition to the light installations, fire jugglers, acrobats, and street theater troupes will fill the streets throughout the festival’s four days. Families can look forward to interactive children’s programs and light-themed craft workshops, while concerts and electronic music parties will keep the festival pulsing late into the night.
This year’s program also features a special Irish theme: in addition to the screening of the Martyn Ferenc tribute film at the Cathedral, there will be an Irish “Path of Light” station, and an Irish food court on Káptalan Street. The festival’s atmosphere is further enriched by the music and dance culture of the island nation.
The programs and light installations in downtown public spaces are free to visit. The special installations in enclosed spaces, the Zsolnay Quarter, and the Kodály Center can be viewed with a Light Festival MAX wristband, which will be available for purchase starting May 7.
Pécs is the highlight of the summer!
