Eufemia Festival 2026 in Rovinj: Vesna Pisarović and Neno Belan lead two days of music in the city's squares
On the first weekend of September, Rovinj will once again transform its city centre and waterfront into the stage of the Eufemia Festival, a two-day event that on 4 and 5 September 2026 combines concerts, gastronomic offerings and an evening programme at several locations around the city. According to the official calendar of the Istria Tourist Board, the main music programme will take place at Trg maršala Tita, while an additional performance is also scheduled for Saturday evening at Trg Riviera. The programme confirms Grooversi, Vesna Pisarović, Acid Salvia, Neno Belan and Le Cronache, while the event is organised by the Rovinj-Rovigno Tourist Board. The festival thus arrives at a time when Rovinj is gradually moving beyond the peak of the summer season, while its streets, squares and waterfront remain strongly connected with cultural and entertainment events. Visitors planning to stay throughout the entire festival weekend may also find accommodation offers in Rovinj useful, particularly because the programme is spread across two evenings.
Friday brings Grooversi and an evening concert by Vesna Pisarović
The first festival evening takes place on Friday, 4 September, at Trg maršala Tita. According to the published programme of the Istria Tourist Board, Grooversi will perform at 20:30, opening the central concert segment of this year's Eufemia Festival. Two hours later, at 22:30, Vesna Pisarović will take the same stage, with her performance announced as Friday's main event. Such a schedule leaves enough room for the evening to develop from the earlier concert slot toward the later performance by an artist who has held a recognisable place on the Croatian music scene for decades. In the announcement currently available, the organisers have not published a detailed repertoire, the duration of individual concerts or any possible additional performers between the listed times, so the officially published starting times and artists' names should be regarded as the confirmed information.
In recent years, Vesna Pisarović has developed her musical work beyond the pop repertoire through which the wider public originally came to know her. Her official website for 2026 highlights the project and album "Poravna", associated with interpretations of sevdah and a more contemporary jazz approach, as well as a series of concerts held during the spring and summer. This part of her current work demonstrates the breadth of the artist's musical expression, but it does not mean that precisely such a programme will also be performed in Rovinj, because the repertoire of the Eufemia Festival has not been specified in advance. For the audience, therefore, the most important confirmed fact is that Pisarović will appear on the main festival stage at 22:30. In the context of an event combining several musical styles and performers, her concert gives Friday a clearly recognisable closing slot.
Saturday at two locations: Acid Salvia, Neno Belan and Le Cronache
Saturday's programme, on 5 September, will be more spatially dispersed. Acid Salvia will perform at Trg maršala Tita at 20:30, followed by a concert by Neno Belan at 22:30, according to the official event calendar of the Istria Tourist Board. At the same time, Le Cronache are scheduled to perform at Trg Riviera at 20:30, meaning visitors will have programming at two separate locations in the city centre during the earlier part of the evening. This arrangement moves part of the festival content from the main city square toward the waterfront and allows the music programme to avoid being concentrated on a single stage. The currently available official announcements do not list additional times or other Saturday performers, so the published schedule remains the most precise basis for planning the evening.
Neno Belan comes to Rovinj with a long songwriting and performing career encompassing his work with the group Đavoli and his later solo career. His official website states that after the Đavoli period he continued his solo career and has collaborated continuously with the Rijeka-based band Fiumens since 1997. Over the decades, his repertoire has retained songs such as "Sunčan dan", "Vino noći", "Rijeka snova", "Galeb" and other compositions that combine pop-rock, retro influences and a Mediterranean sensibility. The organiser of the Eufemia Festival lists Neno Belan in the programme for 5 September without a more detailed description of the lineup that will accompany him on the Rovinj stage, so there is no need to make assumptions about that aspect of the performance in advance. What has been confirmed, however, is his 22:30 slot at Trg maršala Tita, which will conclude the main Saturday concert block.
Confirmed Eufemia Festival schedule
According to the information currently published by the Istria Tourist Board, the schedule of the main programme is as follows:
- Friday, 4 September 2026, Trg maršala Tita: Grooversi at 20:30.
- Friday, 4 September 2026, Trg maršala Tita: Vesna Pisarović at 22:30.
- Saturday, 5 September 2026, Trg maršala Tita: Acid Salvia at 20:30.
- Saturday, 5 September 2026, Trg maršala Tita: Neno Belan at 22:30.
- Saturday, 5 September 2026, Trg Riviera: Le Cronache at 20:30.
The schedule shows that the main square is the central festival stage on both evenings, while Trg Riviera will host a parallel music programme on Saturday. This is important for visitors who want to follow several performances because Acid Salvia and Le Cronache both begin at the same time, at 20:30. After that, the main focus of the programme returns to Trg maršala Tita, where Neno Belan's performance is scheduled for 22:30. The official calendar currently does not list additional daytime programmes, timetable changes or special access arrangements for the squares. As there is slightly more than a week remaining until the festival, any operational information regarding traffic, access or possible programme changes should be followed through announcements from the organiser and tourism institutions.
Gastronomy as the second important part of the festival weekend
The Eufemia Festival is not conceived exclusively as a series of evening concerts. The organiser's original programme specifically highlights the gastronomic offering along the city waterfront and at Trg Riviera, with an emphasis on local flavours and authentic Istrian products. In its official announcement, the Istria Tourist Board also describes the event as an entertainment and music programme accompanied by an offering of local gastronomic specialities. The festival thus follows the model of a city event in which concert content is connected with the waterfront, squares and hospitality offerings rather than being isolated inside an enclosed concert venue. For visitors, this means the programme can be experienced while walking through the city centre, with the option of spending time at several locations during the evening.
Such a format is particularly well suited to Rovinj, whose historic centre is directly connected with the coast and city squares. The official Istria tourism portal lists a large number of cultural, musical and other programmes among current events in Rovinj during August and September, so the Eufemia Festival forms part of a broader calendar that extends the active events season beyond the end of August. The organisers do not present gastronomy as a separate fair, but rather as accompanying content for the festival weekend, which is important to distinguish from events devoted exclusively to food and wine. Visitors arriving from outside Rovinj who want to combine both festival days may find it practical to plan accommodation near the centre of Rovinj, allowing them to follow the evening programme in the squares without additional travel after the concerts.
Why the festival is named after Saint Euphemia
The name of the event is directly associated with Saint Euphemia, the patron saint of Rovinj and one of the key figures in the city's historical and identity heritage. According to the official tourism portal of the Istria Tourist Board, the Church of Saint Euphemia dominates the old town, while its approximately 60-metre-high bell tower with a copper statue of the saint is one of the most prominent elements of Rovinj's skyline. The feast day of Saint Euphemia is celebrated on 16 September, eleven days after the end of this year's Eufemia Festival. For this reason, the festival and the feast day itself are not the same event, although they are connected by the name of the city's patron saint and their September timing. This distinction is important for visitors planning a trip to Rovinj because the concert weekend takes place on 4 and 5 September, while the traditional celebration of the feast follows later in the month.
Official Istrian tourism sources connect the story of Saint Euphemia with a long Rovinj tradition. According to a local legend recorded in tourism materials, the saint's marble sarcophagus floated to the Rovinj coast in the year 800, while the feast on 16 September has attracted worshippers to the city for centuries. Regardless of the legendary dimension of that story, the historical and cultural presence of Saint Euphemia in Rovinj is most clearly visible in the monumental church at the top of the old town and in the names of numerous city events. The Eufemia Festival brings that identity into a contemporary, secular programme of concerts and gastronomy at the beginning of September. This is precisely why the festival's name carries a local significance that extends beyond the music programme itself.
Rovinj and September: events continue after the peak of summer
The beginning of September in Rovinj is not an empty period between the summer season and autumn, but rather a time when numerous events continue to take place. For the transition from August into September, the official tourism portal of the Istria Tourist Board lists cultural exhibitions, smaller fairs, music programmes and the Eufemia Festival, while programmes associated with Saint Euphemia follow in the middle of the month. Such a calendar allows the city to continue using public spaces as stages after the most intense summer weeks. What is particularly important for the Eufemia Festival is that it takes place at open-air, recognisable locations in the city centre, so the concerts are not separated from the everyday rhythm of the waterfront and old town. This connection between space and programme is precisely one of the elements that distinguishes the event from a conventional indoor concert.
For audiences coming only for the music programme, the key times are 20:30 and 22:30, while those who want to experience the entire festival format can arrive earlier and walk along the waterfront and through the gastronomic zones. On Saturday, because Acid Salvia at Trg maršala Tita and Le Cronache at Trg Riviera begin simultaneously, visitors will need to choose one of the two performances or divide part of the evening between the locations. The central later slot remains Neno Belan's concert, while Friday is structured more simply, with Grooversi and Vesna Pisarović performing on the same stage. As this is an outdoor programme, weather conditions may affect its implementation, and according to official information available on 27 August, the published schedule still lists the stated times. Any new instructions or timetable corrections become relevant only if they are officially confirmed by the organiser or tourism institutions.
Two days of programming connecting city squares, music and local flavours
This year's Eufemia Festival therefore has a clearly defined structure: Friday is concentrated on Trg maršala Tita and the performances of Grooversi and Vesna Pisarović, while Saturday simultaneously activates Trg maršala Tita and Trg Riviera, with Acid Salvia, Le Cronache and the closing slot by Neno Belan. Gastronomy along the waterfront and at Trg Riviera adds content beyond the concerts themselves, while the connection with the name of Saint Euphemia places the event within the broader September context of Rovinj. The organiser, the Rovinj-Rovigno Tourist Board, thereby continues the model of a festival that uses the city centre as an open festival zone instead of a single isolated location. According to the information currently available, these performers, locations and times are officially confirmed for 4 and 5 September 2026. Visitors coming because of a particular performer should pay particular attention to the exact square and performance time, especially on Saturday when part of the programme takes place simultaneously.
Sources:
- Istria Tourist Board - official Eufemia Festival calendar with dates, locations, times, performers and organiser (link)
- Istria Tourist Board - official tourism guide to Rovinj and current events calendar for the beginning of September 2026 (link)
- Istria Tourist Board - information about the Church of Saint Euphemia and its significance for Rovinj's old town (link)
- Istria Tourist Board - local tradition and historical context of the veneration of Saint Euphemia in Rovinj (link)
- Official website of Vesna Pisarović - current project "Poravna" and concert activities during 2026 (link)
- Official website of Neno Belan - biographical information, the Đavoli period, solo career and collaboration with Fiumens (link)