New European Bauhaus Festival
From 9 to 12 June, the Commission organises for the first time a Festival dedicated to the New European Bauhaus (NEB). Designed around three pillars, Forum, Fair and Fest and based physically in Brussels, at Gare Maritime & Mont des Arts, but equally around Europe and online, the Festival of the New European Bauhaus will bring together people from all walks of life to explore, debate and shape a beautiful, sustainable and inclusive future.
The Festival is organised along three different formats:
The Forum will feature an inspiring, high-level conference with several conference formats (from round tables to TEDx style talks). Speakers will be of world renown and include prominent architects such as Shigeru Ban, Rem Koolhaas, and Stefano Boeri and significant art world figures such as Gerfried Stocker (Ars Electronica). Several leading national politicians will be attending, such as Elke van den Brandt (Minister for Mobility of Belgium). President Ursula von der Leyen, Commissioners Johannes Hahn, Mariya Gabriel, Elisa Ferreira and Kadri Simson will frame the discussions from the European perspective. During the Forum, on 11 June, the prestigious New European Bauhaus Prizes will beawarded.
*Please note: Forum events take place on-site in Brussels, but of the events many are also being live-streamed.
The Fair will supply an entry point to the variety and diversity of the activities performed under the NEB aegis. Some examples of showcased projects will include local citizen labs to pioneer research funded by EU funding programmes such as Horizon Europe or prototypes that will make our future lives easier, more sustainable and more beautiful. The Fair is co-created: out of the 316 applications received, 100 projects were selected to be displayed at NEB both on fixed and innovative mobile supports (from e-bikes to electrical tuk-tuks) scattered across the city centre.
The Fest will be a celebration of the NEB for everyone. Taking over the Mont des Arts from 9 to 12 June, the programme will appeal to various audiences with dance, installations, theatre, and music performances.
Finally, the Festival will feature more than 200 co-created Side events - in Brussels and in over 20 Member States, with activities ranging from concerts to conferences to fully-fledged festivals.
After this first pilot edition, the festival should travel in the years to come to other European cities to spread awareness of the movement to all the corners of the Union.