Over the past few days, the annual assembly of the European Festivals Association (EFA) was held in Edinburgh. This international network brings together arts festivals from around the world, and the “Grad Teatar” festival from Budva has been a member since 2019.
Each year, EFA hosts a big gathering of its members – festival directors, artists, and creatives – in a different host city. This time, it was held in Edinburgh, alongside the famous Edinburgh International Festival, which has been bringing the whole city to life every summer for the past 78 years.
On April 30th, at the General Assembly, the director of “Grad Teatar,” Milena Lubarda Marojević, who also serves on EFA’s board of directors, presented Budva as a potential host for the next annual gathering. She talked about what Budva has to offer and how it could welcome this important cultural event.
A big part of the presentation was also about preparing for the 40th anniversary of the “Grad Teatar” festival, which will be celebrated in 2026. Ahead of that, around 200 EFA delegates have already announced they’ll visit Budva next year during the festival.
To wrap things up, the EFA flag was officially handed over to Marojević by Katie Paterson, representing the Edinburgh festivals. The assembly approved Budva as the next host, so preparations for this big artistic event in 2026 are about to begin.
It’s really exciting to see Budva stepping into the spotlight like this. Hosting an international event like the EFA assembly isn’t just a big deal for “Grad Teatar,” but for the whole town. It’s a chance to show off our culture, energy, and creativity to people from all over the world. Knowing that 200 delegates will be walking our streets next year and possibly bringing new ideas, collaborations, and opportunities makes it feel like something big is just getting started.
Written by our correspondent A.A.
