Belgrade’s Belef: Dawn of a Festive Summer

Long known as a defining characteristic of summers in Belgrade, the prestigious Belef festival is focusing this year on unity and community by becoming an umbrella festival composed of several festivals.

Belef already kicked off on May 25, but it won’t end anytime soon. The festival promises a remarkable 83 days of cultural activities, lasting until August 15. Belef will have 14 festivals within the festival itself, with over 300 artists participating.

Belef tries to offer the best and latest in music, performing arts and visual arts to everyone spending the summer in the capital. Already considered the soul of the Belgrade summer experience, the decision to turn it into an all-encompassing umbrella festival further solidifies the importance of this festival to Belgrade’s cultural identity.

The Belef experience will give visitors a peek into all of the best festivals that are held in Belgrade throughout the year and show them what they might have missed over the year by skipping these great cultural events.

Examining the entire repertoire is a daunting task, but among many other things, Belgrade’s dwellers and visitors will be able to experience cutting edge musical acts through the already independently important RingRing and Resonate festivals, laugh with more than 20 stand-up comedians from the region and the UK, and enjoy the famed Macedonian Basker Fest, which includes international street theatre and the many acrobats, magicians, jugglers, clowns, mimes and puppeteers who will perform.

Along with the two popular music festivals, Belef organisers have announced that another major concert will be held at Kalemegdan Fortress, though the performers are still being kept secret.

Impressively, Belef’s 2012 programme will include over 30 musical performances and concerts, close to ten various art exhibitions, three full film festivals, educational seminars, literary festivals, poetry readings, stage performances, theatre productions, dance recitals and just about any other type of cultural event imaginable. Belef will even include events related to the UEFA Euro 2012 football tournament, which begins on June 8 and will last for the duration of the month.

Best of all, most of the events will occur outdoors under the day and night skies of the city, which adds to its appeal as an enjoyable way to spend the summer.

So if you are strapped for cash and trapped in the city for the duration of the summer, there is no need to fret. Belef will provide you with entertainment until at least mid-August, and like every year, all the events will be free of charge. For more details on events, concerts, exhibitions and performances you might want to check the festival’s official website http://www.belef.org/ for the latest news and announcements.