Below is a listing of some of the best events in Zagreb for 2024! Croatia’s capital city has a wonderful variety of events taking place all year round – you’ll really be spoilt for choice for things to attend and enjoy.
Events with confirmed dates are shown in bold. If you have or know of an event in Zagreb you’d like to see listed here, contact us!
Events in January 2024
Note: Sadly, the FIS Ski World Cup Snow Queen Trophy will NOT take place in 2024.
The men’s European Waterpolo Championships will be held in Zagreb (and Dubrovnik) from 4th to 16th January 2024.
Place2Go, the largest tourism fair in Croatia, will be held at the Arena Zagreb from 18th to 20th January 2024. Entry is free.
Cirque du Soleil’s touring OVO show will be performed in Zagreb at the Zagreb Arena from 25th to 28th January 2024.
Noc muzeja (or “Night of the Museums”) is held across the country at the end of January, the 19th edition of this very special event. There is free entry to museums, with special exhibitions, workshops, events and more taking place; many of Zagreb’s museums take part.
Events in February 2024
The Zagreb Boat and Sport Show is now in its 31st year and is to be held at the Zagreb Fair (‘Zagrebacki Velesajam’) venue with a variety of boat, yacht and other marine sports exhibitors. It is being held over five days, from 14th to 18th February 2024.
Gast Fair is the largest gastro event in Croatia, and is held in Zagreb for the first time. (It previously used to be held in Split.) It is on from 23rd to 25th February 2024.
Events in March 2024
Restaurant Week (or Tjedan Restoran in Croatian) actually takes place over a week and a bit in Croatia’s capital city in March each year. A number of restaurants take part, each offering a special Restaurant Week three-course menu (and sometimes with a glass of wine too!) for a special price.
The Festival of Lights will take place each evening from 20th to 24th March 2024 with a number of stunning visual light displays at several prominent locations around the city.
Events in April 2024
Professor Brian Cox will be bringing his Horizons Tour to the Lisinski Concert Hall on 9th April 2024.
Rally Croatia, part of the FIA World Rally calendar, will be held on a 300km course in, around and near Zagreb from 18th to 21st April 2024.
Zagreb Dox, an international documentary film festival, will be in its 20th year in 2024; it will be on from 14th to 21st April 2024. Taking place at the MoviePlex cinema in the Kaptol Center, there are several themed programs as well as a competition for the best documentary.
Events in May 2024
The Welcome Spring Festival celebrates and promotes nature and protecting the environment and highlights issues regarding climate change through numerous activities – workshops, art programmes, music, kids events and more. It takes place in early May each year.
Pizza Festival Zagreb should be serving up some very tasty pizza pies on Strossmayer Square in mid-May.
The 33rd Days of Croatian Film will take place over six days in mid-May.
The Floraart Festival – an international flower and garden event – takes place by Lake Bundek in late May each year. A great number of Croatian exhibitors and a handful of international ones also take part.
Ljeto na Strosu (“Summer on Strosu”) is a series of musical and other fun events on Strossmayer Boulevard in Zagreb’s Upper Town. It takes place every summer from roughly the end of May to the beginning of September each year.
Sting will be performing at the Zagreb Arena on the 27th May 2024.
C’est is d’Best is a late-May festival in which street performers – musicians, actors, dancers – take part in various performances at assorted locations throughout the city. It is on from 28th May to 2nd June 2024.
Events in June 2024
Veceri na Gricu (Evenings on Gric or Gric Evenings in English) is a long-running festival (in its 43rd year in 2024) featuring a series of concerts in the Upper Town. The concerts will take place throughout June and July 2024.
Animafest, as the name might suggest, is a world festival of animated film which was first held way back in 1972. This year’s festival will be held from 3rd to 8th June 2024.
The Zagreb Beer Fest takes place in Franjo Tudjman Park, west of the main square, in early June. Close to 200 beers can be sampled, with lots of good food and music to enjoy too!
The Food Truck Festival should be offering up plenty of tasty delights – food and drink – plus entertainment by Lake Jarun in June.
The 23rd Zagreb Pride should take to the streets of Croatia’s capital in early June.
Let The Music Be Free is a dance music festival taking place on 7th and 8th June 2024.
Look out for the Asian Street Food Festival is taking place in Strossmayer Park in mid-June; come down to try some very fine Asian cuisine and drinks from top Zagreb restaurants.
The Pop Up Summer Garden runs from mid-June until mid-September every Zagreb summer. It features live music, film, workshops and food and drink in the pretty Tuskanac woods.
Lake Jarun is home to the INmusic Festival which returns after a one-year break! A three-day (24th to 26th June 2024) music event in a pretty setting in the southwestern part of the city, there’s a host of international bands and stars performing. It’s a great way of experiencing a music festival right in the heart of a European city – and is one of the top events in Zagreb each year. Read more on our guide to the Festival here.
Events in July 2024
Grace Jones will be performing at the Salata Stadium on 4th July 2024.
The 18th Festival of Tolerance (Jewish Film Festival) should be held in early July.
The Fantastic Zagreb Film Festival is a festival dedicated to “fiction film” – i.e. sci-fi, horror, thrillers, suspense films and similar. Film screenings take place in several cinemas in the city in June/July.
The magical Dvorista (“Courtyards”) takes place in those very – normally inaccessible – areas in the Upper Town of Zagreb in mid-July, with music, gastronomic delights and much more.
The International Folklore Festival – over the course of five days – brings together folklore groups from Croatia, Europe and further afield for performances, workshops, concerts, exhibitions and a handicraft and souvenir fair. Some performances are held in Ban Jelacic Square. This year’s Festival is the 58th edition.
Events in August 2024
Mali Piknik (Small Picnic) is an event taking place on Fridays in July and August at Rokov Perivoj. Bring a blanket and good company for your own little picnic, enjoying good food and drink that is available to buy from local businesses.
Ed Sheeran will be performing at the Hipodrom on 10th August 2024.
Okolo Zagreb in August features a number of art installations – both large and small – on the streets of Zagreb by Croatian and foreign artists.
Note: We sometimes get asked why we never – or hardly ever – feature any August events for Zagreb! There are a few – check out some of the listings in the months above for events that, for example, ‘start in June’. Truthfully, there are not many happenings in the city this month as visitors and locals have departed for the coast for the summer holidays!
Events in September 2024
Zagreb Burger Festival takes place in Tudjman Park in early/mid-September. All sorts of amazing burger creations will be on offer – from the plain to the “exotic” – as well as drinks, live music, kids activities and more. It’s a very fun – not to mention super tasty – event to attend!
The 57th International Puppet Festival will take place from 13th to 19th September 2024 with both Croatian and international puppetry groups taking part.
Events in October 2024
The 32nd Zagreb Marathon will be held on the city’s streets in early October.
The Zagreb TourFilm Festival – a festival of international tourist films – takes place in early October.
Artupunktura is a (largely outdoor) art festival that stretches out over a month mid October; expect to see large-scale art installations are numerous locations around the city.
The Zagreb Jazz Festival takes place in October/November each year.
Events in November 2024
The highly prestigious Zagreb Film Festival – now in its 22nd year – showcases films from debut or new filmmakers from across the world with prizes awarded in several categories. It will be held firm 4th to 11th November 2024.
The 18th Pssst! Silent Film Festival – with both domestic and foreign films – takes place in early November.
The Zagreb Yarn Craft Fest takes place at the Ethnographic Museum at end of November. It covers knitting, crocheting, lacemaking and more.
Events in December 2024
The 22nd Human Rights Film Festival takes place in early December in Zagreb (and Rijeka), promoting the subject of human rights as depicted in film.
As with many other places in Europe, Christmas will take over much of Zagreb in December, with decorations, live outdoor music, festive events and more. Advent Zagreb is a good website to check what’s happening where – if nothing else, head down to the main square (Trg ban Jelacic) to join in with the festive mood there! Zagreb won the European Best Destinations Best Christmas Market in 2016, 2017 AND 2018, so Zagreb’s Christmas celebrations are some of the best in Croatia (if not in the whole of Europe!). It’s a great time of year to be in Zagreb!
Trg ban Jelacic is also the main focus for New Year’s Eve celebrations, with an open-air concert and fireworks.