Zsolnay Light Festival 2026 — Pécs Projection Mapping Competition Guide

Zsolnay Light Festival 2026 — Hungary’s Premier Projection Mapping Competition

Ten years after the streets of Pécs first lit up with the magic of contemporary light art, the jubilee 10th edition of the Zsolnay Light Festival returns bigger and more spectacular than ever before — from 2 to 5 July, for four nights, more than thirty artworks will flood the city with light. What began as a bold urban experiment is now one of Central Europe’s most significant light art events, and a genuine gateway to the international projection mapping competition circuit.

This guide covers everything projection mapping artists and audiences need to know about the Zsolnay Light Festival — its structure, the competition, its relationship to the global mapping competition scene, the 2026 programme, and why Pécs has become a reference point in European light art.

What the Zsolnay Light Festival Is — and What It Isn’t

The Zsolnay Light Festival is not a projection mapping festival in the narrow sense. Festival director Peter Pusker is precise about this distinction:

“We are not a projection mapping festival, but rather one of the few light festivals that organises an international video mapping competition every year as part of a much broader programme.” — Peter Pusker, Director, Zsolnay Light Festival

This distinction matters. The festival organically combines the world of light festivals with street art production, concerts, theatre and contemporary circus performances. Projection mapping is the centrepiece — specifically, the nightly competition on the facade of the Pécs Cathedral — but it exists within a programme that spans the entire city across 34 sites, mixing analogue light installations, interactive sculptures, immersive indoor experiences, audiovisual concerts and family programming.

Hungary’s first and only light festival, the Zsolnay Light Festival in Pécs illuminates downtown Pécs with dazzling light creations every July. The buildings are clad in garments of light, the streets are carpeted with colour, while the monumental facade of the Cathedral is brought to life by the best 3D cinematic projections of the international mapping competition.

The festival draws over 100,000 visitors annually — making it not only the largest light event in Hungary but one of the most visited urban cultural festivals in the region.

The Mapping Competition — Cathedral Facade as the Stage

The centrepiece of the Zsolnay Light Festival is the Zsolnay Light Art International Mapping Competition, held nightly on the facade of the Pécs Cathedral — one of the most photogenic architectural surfaces in Hungary.

The festival’s main attraction — the international projection mapping contest — turns the facade of the Pécs Cathedral into a giant screen every night. Nightly crowds pack the square by the Cathedral, where the Zsolnay Light Art Video Mapping Competition turns the historic facade into the festival’s largest luminous screen.

International teams compete with original works mapped to the Cathedral’s specific architectural geometry — arches, towers, portals and the full frontal plane of the building. The competition is open to teams from any country, with finalists selected through an open call process.
What distinguishes the Zsolnay competition from other regional events is its documented track record as a qualification pathway to the highest level of international mapping competition. As Pusker explains:

“We are especially proud that our winners have consistently qualified for the IMAPP competition in Bucharest, which is widely considered the ‘Champions League’ of mapping competitions. Our winner last year, Electric.Me, also went on to win IMAPP.”

The international presence of the Zsolnay Light Festival continues to grow — the festival was once again represented at iMapp Bucharest, the world’s largest video mapping competition, where the world’s leading light artists compete. This pipeline — from Pécs to Bucharest — gives the Zsolnay competition a weight in the projection mapping community that far exceeds its geography.

Glowing Bulbs — The Creative Partnership Behind the Competition

The mapping competition does not happen in isolation. Since the festival’s first edition, the Budapest-based artist collective Glowing Bulbs has been the co-organiser and creative partner for the competition programme. As Pusker notes:

“Since the very beginning of the festival, the Budapest-based artist collective Glowing Bulbs has been our co-organiser and close creative partner. We plan our future together, and we hope to create at least as many more editions of the festival as we already have, if not even more.”

This long-term creative partnership is unusual in the festival world and directly responsible for the competition’s consistency and artistic quality. Glowing Bulbs brings professional production knowledge, artistic judgement and community connections that have shaped the competition’s identity across all ten editions.

The 2026 Edition — 10th Anniversary and Vasarely

The 2026 jubilee edition coincides with two exceptional anniversaries: the 120th anniversary of the birth of Victor Vasarely — the Pécs-born father of Op Art — and the 50th anniversary of the Vasarely Museum. The central theme of this year’s Light Festival is therefore Vasarely’s PLASTI-CITÉ // CITY IN COLOUR concept — an invitation into the world of optical illusion and the sensory experience of colour and movement.

The Vasarely connection is not superficial. Vasarely believed art carries social responsibility — it doesn’t belong behind elite walls but in daily life as a shared value. “Colorful city” was his shorthand for an inspiring, human-scale environment where art isn’t mere decoration but an active part of our routines. The festival channels that ethos, putting world-class works within arm’s reach — free to roam, easy to love, and impossible to forget.

For projection mapping artists entering the 2026 competition, the Vasarely theme provides a specific conceptual framework — optical illusion, movement, spatial perception, colour as a structural element — that maps directly onto the possibilities of architectural projection mapping. Works that engage genuinely with the Op Art legacy and its relationship to light-based media will find a naturally receptive context.

This year’s finalists include creators from Italy, China, and Bulgaria, all riffing on Vasarely’s op-art legacy. 

The Route of Light — Beyond the Competition

The competition facade is only one element of the festival experience. The festival’s backbone is the Light Path, threading 15 sites in the city centre and 19 around the Zsolnay Quarter. Visitors roam at their own pace, collecting moments — immersive tunnels, responsive sculptures, and illusory architectures that warp with each step.

The Zsolnay Quarter and Kodály Center form the festival’s main experience hub as part of Light Festival MAX — a wristband-access area packed with the boldest, most interactive installations. Most outdoor city installations and the Route of Light itself are free to visit — the festival maintains a commitment to public accessibility that reflects Vasarely’s own philosophy about art in everyday life.

The festival fuses light art with street performances, concerts, theatre and new circus shows, turning education into entertainment with interactive, curiosity-sparking side events. Invited studios and artists from Hungary and abroad are leaders in this fast-evolving field, blending technology, design, and storytelling to create works that feel both cutting-edge and warmly human.

Practical Information about Light Festival

Dates: 2–5 July 2026
Location: Pécs, Hungary — city centre and Zsolnay Quarter
Route of Light: free, self-guided, 34 sites across the city
Hours: works visible Thursday–Saturday 9:30pm–1:00am, Sunday until midnight
Light Festival MAX: premium indoor venues and Zsolnay Quarter — wristband required, on sale from May 7
Official website: zsolnayfenyfesztival.hu

For Projection Mapping Artists — Why Zsolnay Matters

The combination of a rigorous international competition, a defined architectural canvas, a thematically rich brief and a direct pathway to IMAPP Bucharest makes the Zsolnay Light Festival one of the most strategically valuable competition entries in the European projection mapping calendar.

For artists at an early-to-mid career stage, the Cathedral facade provides a rare opportunity to present work at architectural scale to a live audience of 100,000+ — an experience that is otherwise difficult to access without the backing of a major production company or city commission.

For content and asset needs specific to competition-level architectural facade work, the Video Mapping Store architectural library provides video mapping loops, animated facades and projection textures designed specifically for building-scale projection mapping — royalty-free, compatible with Resolume Arena and MadMapper, available as instant download.

For a broader guide to projection mapping festivals and competitions worldwide, see our Projection Mapping Events section →