The International Folklore Festival comes to life in Bergamo during the last week of August, coinciding with the celebrations of Saint Alexander, the city’s patron saint. Proudly organized by the Ducato di Piazza Pontida, the Festival enlivens the city and many towns across the province for about a week, with a rich program of performances, shows, and cultural exchanges.
An event that transforms Bergamo and its surroundings into a vast multicultural stage, where traditions and cultures from all over the world meet and intertwine.

The Festival, founded in 1983, has over the years established itself as an international cultural landmark, bringing to Bergamo nearly 5,000 young artists from every corner of the globe. Since its inception, more than 130 groups have performed on its stage and in the city’s squares, sharing the folklore and traditions of over 50 nations: not only from Europe, but also from South America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.

The Festival’s goal has always been to offer audiences a rich and diverse panorama, capable of uniting world-renowned folkloric cultures, such as those of Brazil and Mexico, with rarer and more captivating expressions from remote places like Mongolia or Papua New Guinea, bearers of ancient and extraordinary traditions.

The Festival stands out for the excellence of its cultural offering: each edition is a true window onto the world, where centuries-old traditions meet and interact in an atmosphere of respect, sharing, and celebration. On the same stage, widely known cultures, such as those of Brazil or Mexico, share space with rarer and more evocative traditions, like those of Mongolia or Papua New Guinea, capable of telling distant stories full of charm and authenticity through folklore.

More than just a bridge between peoples, the Festival is also a unique opportunity for both citizens and tourists to experience an immersive, multisensory journey: ancient melodies, captivating rhythms, colorful costumes, and spectacular choreographies that reveal the deepest soul of each culture.
The Festival is not merely an event; it is a journey that unites, educates, and enchants, leaving all who participate with an unforgettable memory of shared beauty and emotion.