The Delegation of the European Union to Serbia and the Europe House invite citizens to celebrate Europe Month together through events taking place throughout May 2026 in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš and Novi Pazar.
Programme, under the message “United in Diversity”, includes concerts, exhibitions, educational workshops, guided walks and festival activities. All events are open to the public and free of charge.
The celebration of Europe Month 2026 carries a special, jubilee significance, marking 40 years since the first official celebration of Europe Day and the introduction of the European Union’s flag and anthem into official use.
Key events within this year’s programme include the Europe Day celebration on 9 May in front of the Europe House in Belgrade, the Picnic at Lower Kalemegdan on 10 May, and the guided tour Belgrade Passport on 23 and 30 May.
9 May – Europe Day in front of the Europe House Belgrade (12:00–20:00)
On Europe Day itself, 9 May, a programme combining music and visual arts will take place in front of the Europe House in Belgrade (corner of Knez Mihailova and Zmaj Jovina streets) from noon until 20:00.
The musical programme opens with DF Choir (12:00–12:30), a children’s ensemble under the artistic direction of Bojana Vunturišević, known for contemporary arrangements and strong stage energy. This is followed by Lady Jelena (14:00–15:00), a singer-songwriter whose pop and acoustic style conveys emotional interpretations of personal themes, and NAKED Band (16:30–18:00), a Belgrade-based group blending world music, jazz and Balkan rhythms through energetic instrumentals.
The exhibition “United in Diversity” (18:00–20:00) is jointly organised by the Europe House and Kulturforum ODKR. The exhibiting artists – Bratislav Milenković, Željko Lončar, Monika Lang, Irena Gajić, Dušan Lilić, Vladan Sibinović, Jelena Milićević and Nataša Mihailović – each present their own original interpretation of European values and what they represent.
10 May – Europe Day Picnic (10:00–20:00)
At Lower Kalemegdan, on 10 May from 10:00 to 20:00, the popular open-air event Picnic – its first of the season – will also mark its tenth anniversary alongside Europe Day 2026, with a programme combining music, children’s entertainment, language exchange and a festival atmosphere.
The music zone features live performances and DJ sets throughout the day, opening with Spacewalker (12:00-14:00), followed by Stray Dogg (14:15–15:00), Niko Nikolić (15:15-16:00), Luka Rajić (16:15-17:00) and Dolores (17:15-18:00). The evening programme continues with Igor Jadranin (18:00-19:00) and DJP (19:00-20:00).
The children’s zone offers a variety of activities for all ages. The programme opens with the children’s play “Something Healthy” on the main stage (11:00-12:00), followed by literary workshops and a Circus School. An interactive 3D LEGO mosaic will also be available throughout the day.
Foreign language workshops for children are organised by the German School Belgrade (12:00-16:00), the Embassy of Hungary in Belgrade together with the Hungarian Children’s Corner (12:00-14:00), and the Italian Cultural Institute in Belgrade through an interactive workshop introducing Italian language and culture (14:00-16:00).
The recreation zone (12:00-18:00) offers informal language exchange with representatives from 14 EU Member States – The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic, Spain, France, Italy, Finland, Ireland, Greece, Slovenia, Denmark, Poland and Hungary – as part of the Europe Language Café initiative.
Belgrade Passport – guided tours
The Europe House in Belgrade is the starting point for a city exploration adventure called Belgrade passport – through walking, collecting stamps and discovering key cultural and historical landmarks.
From the Europe House, the route continues via the French Cultural Centre, the Instituto Cervantes, the University of Belgrade Rectorate, the Yugoslav Film Archive, the Goethe-Institut, Kosančićev Venac, Gospodar Jevremova Street and the Kula Gallery in Cetinjska, ending at the Main Post Office.
Participants who complete their passport with all stamps will enter a prize draw for foreign language courses, as well as unique handmade ceramics and prints by young artists. Guided tours – Belgrade Passport – will take place on 23 and 30 May, as well as 6 June.
Other events within Europe Month
A wide range of additional activities will take place across cities in Serbia as part of Europe Month.
In Belgrade, the photo exhibition “Balkan Love” by Aleksandar Crnogorac – featuring 99 portraits of interethnic couples from the region – opens on 28 May at Kalemegdan, in cooperation with the Embassy of Switzerland. On 29 May, the Danube Dance Alliance, a European project bringing together partners from six countries, will perform in Knez Mihailova Street, also marking the opening of the Solo Festival. Europe Month in Belgrade concludes on 30 May with concerts by Jasna Jovićević Quinary and the band VROOOM in front of the Europe House.
In Novi Sad, the programme includes a special edition of Socrates Café dedicated to critical thinking in the digital age (14 May), Forum Theatre for young people as part of the EU project MYndTheater (13 May), an intergenerational origami workshop on peace and unity at the Novi Sad Humanitarian Centre (12 May), and the Open Studio Europe event on EU opportunities for young people (25 May). On Europe Day, 9 May, music and creative workshops for children inspired by the EU anthem “Ode to Joy” will be held at the Svilara Cultural Station.
In Niš, four guided walks will be organised throughout May as part of the Niš Passport (9, 16 and 23 May), along with the travelling UN exhibition “Tolerance” (21 May) and themed editions of the event series “Tailored”. The Konstantinus Chamber Ensemble will perform interactive classical music concerts in schools in Leskovac (8 May), Prokuplje (14 May) and Pirot (15 May).
In Novi Pazar, the Creative Europe Festival will take place across multiple locations (22 May), alongside an information session on the Digital Europe programme (21 May). The Ras Museum will host the exhibition “Stećaklend”, presenting medieval stećci – protected by UNESCO since 2016 – through VR and AR technologies.
About Europe Day
On 9 May 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman delivered a historic speech presenting a plan for deeper cooperation in Europe. Known as the Schuman Declaration, this vision paved the way for a new era of peace, integration and collaboration on the continent, laying the foundations for the European Union as we know it today.
In commemoration of this date, the European Council decided in 1985 in Milan that 9 May would be celebrated as Europe Day – the same year the motto “United in Diversity”, along with the EU flag and anthem, were officially adopted.
In 2026, we celebrate a milestone – 40 years since the first official observance of Europe Day, the introduction of the EU flag and anthem, and the accession of Spain and Portugal to the European Union.
Serbia obtained EU associated country status following the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, which entered into force in 2013.
Each year, Europe Day celebrates shared values, cultural, linguistic and experience exchange, and the creation of new opportunities through strengthening partnerships.