The first day of Malta Festival 2026 is behind us. Thousands of people gathered by Lake Malta for the To Love! concert, officially launching eight days of performances, concerts, exhibitions and encounters. If you missed it – or would simply like to relive the atmosphere – be sure to visit our photo gallery from the festival opening.

Today, Malta invites audiences first and foremost to gather around a shared table. At 20:00, the Free Courtyard of Poznań City Hall will host Good Table – a unique dinner for more than 300 guests, where cuisine, music and conversation come together in a single event. The four seasons will be interpreted through flavours, sounds and the atmosphere of communal dining. There are still places available for those who would like to join the evening, and half of the ticket revenue will support the Yellow Plate programme run by Kulczyk Foundation. 

One of the day’s highlights will also be the Polish premiere of La Mort de la Mer, the new project by CocoRosie. Twenty years after their last visit to Poznań, Bianca and Sierra Casady return with an audiovisual opera inspired by natural rhythms, cycles of life and humanity’s relationship with the world around us. The performance also features Justyna Wasilewska. The show begins at 19:00 in the Great Hall of CK Zamek. It marks the Polish premiere of the production, presented to audiences in Poland for the first time following its world premiere last year. All tickets have been sold out.

At 16:30, Freedom Square will host another performance of Épiphytes, the aerial production by Belgian company Cie des Chaussons Rouges. Performed several metres above the ground, the piece brings together four dancer-acrobats in a spectacle built around cooperation, trust and mutual support. This is the penultimate opportunity to see the performance – the final presentation takes place on Tuesday.

At 21:30, Stary Browar Park will host the opening event of this year’s Women’s Cinema programme. Audiences will see La petite mort by Martyna Byczkowska and Kaja Zalewska – a personal work combining elements of film, theatre and documentary. The screening will be followed by a conversation with the creators and participants of the project.

Throughout the day, visitors can also take part in events organised as part of the Women’s Forum programme.

At 9:00, Zielona Weranda will host Oh, Mother and Daughter!, a breakfast meeting led by Dr Agnieszka Nalewczyńska, inviting mothers and daughters to talk about adolescence, emotions and building relationships.

At 10:00, Madlen Revlon will lead Presence Practice: Awakening the Body Through Movement at the Festival Club, exploring improvisation, expression and body awareness.

At 12:00, the Festival Club welcomes Dr Anna Jankowiak, known as The Knowledge Witch, for Goddess Hecate – A Woman at the Crossroads, a workshop devoted to one of the most fascinating figures of the ancient world.

At 14:00, Breast Talk with Izabela Sakutova takes place at Atrium UAP, focusing on breast health, self-examination and body awareness.

Also at 14:00, the Festival Club hosts Natural Voice Singing, led by Joanna Sykula Sykulska, a workshop dedicated to voice work and free expression through singing.

At 17:30, the Festival Club launches this year’s edition of Women Talking. Its first guest will be filmmaker, screenwriter and novelist Anna Jadowska, author of the novel Dadzieja.

Meanwhile, at 19:00, the Polish Theatre in Poznań presents Dolls House, directed by Tadeusz Pyrczak. Revisiting the world created by Henrik Ibsen, the production looks at the story through the eyes of Nora and Torvald’s children. Today’s performance is the first of two presentations during Malta Festival.

See you at Malta!
To Love!