Vienna Cultural Summer 2025: Art and culture for all conquer Vienna's squares and parks

The Vienna Summer of Culture will once again bring the city's contemporary art and culture scene to public stages in 2025. From June 26 to August 10, 2025, the open-air festival will transform parks and squares throughout Vienna into vibrant cultural venues, presenting around 2000 artists from various genres.

With over 500 free performances spanning cabaret, literature, music, performance, dance, theater, and contemporary circus, the festival offers an impressive program for all walks of life for the sixth time. Under the motto "Culture is where you are," the Cultural Summer aims to democratize access to cultural offerings and create meeting places for diverse audiences. This initiative not only strengthens social cohesion but also positions art and culture as an essential component of urban living.

Art and culture in public spaces: A door opener for everyone

The two managing directors of the Vienna Cultural Summer, Caro Madl and Siglind Güttler, emphasize the festival's integrative power: "Vienna Cultural Summer welcomes everyone and brings art and culture to parks and squares throughout Vienna. In this way, we also reach people who otherwise have little access to institutional cultural offerings – the festival can be a cultural door opener." This statement underscores the festival's central aim: to make art and culture accessible to everyone, regardless of social status or previous cultural consumption.

The event highlights the city as a social fabric. The decentralized locations in Vienna's various districts promote the democratization of culture. Instead of limiting itself to central, established cultural institutions, the Cultural Summer brings art directly to the people in their neighborhoods. This allows residents, tourists, and interested parties alike to experience a wide range of performances during the festival, Thursday through Sunday, between 18:30 p.m. and 21 p.m. The program ranges from Viennese songs and acrobatics to solo theater, salsa, live podcasts, and house dancing.

Mayor Michael Ludwig emphasizes the role of the Cultural Summer for the city's community: "The Vienna Cultural Summer offers a platform for Vienna's diversity and has established itself as an important part of our city's local cultural offerings. It celebrates creativity and social interaction on, off, and behind the stage, and creates meeting places that bring different audiences together." The festival thus makes a significant contribution to bringing a vibrant and diverse cultural offering directly to the city's neighborhoods.

Decentralized venues and expansion of the offering

The Vienna Cultural Summer relies on a proven strategy of decentralization to reach as many people as possible in the various city districts. In 2025, new locations will be added to the familiar pop-up stages at the following locations:

New locations 2025:

• Waldmüllerpark (10th district)
• Northwest Station (20th district)
• Football Club 1210 (21st District)
• Atzgersdorf City Park (23rd district)

Proven locations:

• Hyblerpark (11th district)
• Wilhelmsdorf Park (12th district)
• Reithofferpark (15th district)
• Währinger Park (18th district)
• Schrödingerplatz (22nd district)

This expansion of the network of venues underscores the aim of integrating culture into the immediate lives of Viennese people and thus further reducing barriers to access to culture. Each of these parks and squares will become a temporary stage for the duration of the festival, bringing people together and enlivening public space.

Musical highlights: Opening, choir evenings and jazz brunch

The Vienna Cultural Summer 2025 offers a series of musical highlights that are sure to delight both lovers of classical sounds and fans of modern music:

• Opening concert: This year, the ceremonial opening of the Vienna Cultural Summer will once again take place against the iconic backdrop of the Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel. Conductor Petr Popelka, renowned baritone Thomas Quasthoff, musician Lemo, soprano Alina Wunderlin, and The Flying Schnörtzenbrekkers will enchant the audience at the Vienna Symphony Orchestra's Prater Picnic. This opening concert on June 26 and 27, starting at 19:30 p.m. on the Kaiserwiese in the Prater, promises a cultural highlight to kick off the festival.
• Choir evenings: In cooperation with the Film Festival on Vienna's Rathausplatz, the Vienna Cultural Summer brings music to the heart of the city. Two choir evenings, dedicated to pop and rock, as well as timeless classics of music history, will take place on July 19 and 20 from 18:30 p.m. to 20 p.m. on Rathausplatz. These evenings invite you to sing and listen together in the open air.
• Jazz Brunch: The Jazz Brunch, featuring musical highlights and talents from the Austrian jazz scene, will take place for the first time this summer. Every Sunday from 12 p.m. to 14 p.m., from June 29 to August 31, visitors can enjoy jazz in a relaxed atmosphere on the Town Hall Square and end the Sunday in a relaxed atmosphere.

This diverse additional musical program enriches the cultural summer offerings and appeals to a broad audience, from classical music lovers to jazz enthusiasts.

Connecting generations and strengthening social cohesion

The Vienna Summer of Culture places great emphasis on connecting generations and strengthening social cohesion. The festival offers a diverse program for the whole family:

• Children's program: On selected days, the children's program invites children to creative adventures on various stages starting at 10:30 a.m. Selected young visitors are also welcome to the evening acts to experience art and culture together with their families.
• Garden concerts in retirement homes: A special highlight are the garden concerts in 29 "Hauses zum Leben" (Houses for Living), Viennese retirement homes. Here, residents embark on a journey full of music and nostalgia, right in their own garden. Not only retirees, but anyone interested is cordially invited to enjoy the live music, including musical treats and classic Viennese songs. These concerts create connections across generations and bring together people who might otherwise not have access to such cultural performances. Registration for the garden concerts is open.

Kultursommer Plus: Artistic and democracy-strengthening participatory formats

The "Kultursommer Plus" program focuses on participatory formats that encourage active audience participation. From workshops to open art stations to picnics, everyone is invited to get creative and exchange ideas:

• Street art formats: Opportunities to try your hand at creating street art.
• Performance & Draw: Interactive sessions that encourage drawing and performance.
• Styling Corner: Offers that enable creative expression through styling.
• Connection Kiosk: Meeting places where people can make new contacts.
• Joint exchange: All formats invite visitors to explore creative forms of expression, meet new people, and share artistic perspectives on the city and society. These interactive stations create spaces that strengthen democracy beyond one's own "bubble" and promote dialogue between diverse audiences.

Another highlight is that Children's festival in cooperation with WIENXTRA holiday games and Hollis Grätzltour, which tours Vienna every Saturday. With a stage program, children's book picnics, and hands-on activities, it offers a colorful experience for all ages. The entire participatory program is available on the Vienna Cultural Summer website under the "Cultural Summer Plus" section.

Building cultural bridges with new main sponsor PORR

The concept of the Vienna Cultural Summer—making culture accessible to everyone—has been implemented for six years with generous support from the City of Vienna. The festival also enjoys increasing funding from individual districts, making a valuable contribution to low-threshold access to culture and a vibrant sense of community in local neighborhoods.

An important step for the financing and further development of the festival is the acquisition of the company PORR as main sponsor from 2025. Karl-Heinz Strauss, CEO of PORR AG, emphasized the alignment of values: "As a construction company, we don't just erect buildings, we create living spaces. Art and culture are part of this - they bring people together and enliven the city. The Vienna Cultural Summer is a valuable initiative that fits perfectly with our self-image as a responsible partner for a livable, diverse city." The partnership with such a significant company as PORR secures the long-term financing of the Cultural Summer and enables us to further expand and diversify the offerings in order to reach even more people in Vienna and consolidate the city as a vibrant cultural area.