UP Festival 2026: Contemporary Circus Takes Over Brussels as a Space for Connection, Care, and Resistance

From 19 to 29 March 2026, UP Festival returns to Brussels for its 19th edition, transforming the city into a living stage for contemporary circus and performing arts. Over the course of 11 days, Belgian and international artists will inhabit theatres, circus tents, public spaces, and unconventional venues, reaffirming circus as a vibrant, engaged, and deeply contemporary art form.

Presented as an international biennial of contemporary circus, UP Festival 2026 brings together 26 productions and 71 performances across 12 locations in Brussels. Companies from Belgium, France, Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, and Spain will present works that cross physical virtuosity with singular artistic writing and hybrid forms, exploring movement, vulnerability, and lived experience.

Circus as a Living, Political Art Form

At the heart of the 2026 edition lies a powerful curatorial statement: bodies are political. On UP Festival stages, bodies appear exposed, fragile, resilient, collective, and resistant. The program foregrounds themes of femininity in action, visible motherhood, chosen vulnerability, and social bonds tested through risk and movement.

In a world increasingly shaped by individualism and isolation, UP Festival deliberately embraces softness, complicity, and collective strength as acts of resistance. Circus becomes a sensitive laboratory—one in which our relationships to others, to norms, and to society are re-examined through physical language rather than words.

“Today, circus is not only spectacular,” says Catherine Magis, Artistic Director of UP – Circus & Performing Arts. “It is an art of connection—a way of inhabiting the world differently, with greater attentiveness, tenderness, and passion.”

A City-Wide Stage Rooted in Molenbeek

Anchored in Molenbeek, on the former Delhaize site now occupied by UP – Circus & Performing Arts, the festival treats Brussels itself as an open-air performance space. From big tops and theatre stages to trucks, fairground installations, and public-space interventions, UP Festival deploys formats that stay close to bodies, places, and social realities.

This strong urban anchoring reflects the festival’s long-standing philosophy: the city is not a backdrop, but an active partner. Audiences are invited not only to watch, but to engage—emotionally, physically, and intellectually—with the works presented.

A Plural and Demanding Program

UP Festival 2026 showcases a plural, demanding, and uncompromising artistic program, bringing together established voices and bold contemporary creators. Highlights include works by David Dimitri, MagdaClan, Back Pocket, Cie Rasposo, Cie eia, Gaël Santisteva, Lucie Yerlès, Fabbrica C, and many others.

Each production contributes to what the festival describes as a “sensitive cartography of contemporary circus”—plural, embodied, open to the world, and deeply connected to the city.

Among the 26 productions are 20 public performances and 6 professional showcases, reinforcing UP Festival’s dual role as a cultural event for audiences and a professional platform for the circus and performing arts sector.

A Meeting Point for Professionals

Beyond performances, UP Festival is also a key meeting place for professionals. Integrated into the festival, FOCUS PROS unfolds across four dedicated professional days, combining showcases, discussions, networking moments, and opportunities to discover emerging artistic voices and new forms of writing.

This professional dimension reinforces UP Festival’s commitment to supporting creation, fostering dialogue, and strengthening international connections within the contemporary circus ecosystem.

A Festival with a History—and a Future

Founded in 1998 under the name Pistes de Lancement and initiated by Espace Catastrophe, the festival has consistently championed demanding, contemporary circus rooted in its time. It became a biennial event in 2010, adopted the name UP Festival in 2014, and was awarded “Best International Event” at the Visit Brussels Awards in 2018.

Today, UP Festival continues to affirm a clear ambition: to support the most daring forms of contemporary circus while expanding dialogue with the city and its audiences.

Practical Information

UP Festival – Circus & Performing Arts
Brussels, Belgium
19–29 March 2026
26 productions | 71 performances | 12 venues
Tickets from €9 to €36
Festival Pass available
Info & tickets: upupup.be