On Saturday, September 7th, the 34th edition of the Malta Festival begins! What will the public opening look like? At 3:00 PM in Fryderyk Chopin Park, the festival will be inaugurated with speeches by the festival’s patron, Dominika Kulczyk, and Jaha Dukureh—a Nobel Peace Prize nominee and activist working to end female genital mutilation. After these addresses, Dominika Kulczyk will set the Dominoes installation in motion, and everyone gathered will be able to follow the path of 7,200 dominoes, ultimately leading to Chwaliszewo. There, in the Old Warta Riverbed Park, the next part of the inauguration will take place. When the last domino falls, a procession led by Ewa Wycichowska—accompanied by Little Amal and a brass band—will guide everyone to the unveiling of a sculpture commemorating a woman condemned to death for alleged witchcraft. The artwork, initiated by Ewa Łowżył, will be introduced by its creator, sculptor Alicja Biała, and Dominika Kulczyk will reveal the image of the historical Witch.

This is how the Malta Festival 2024 will begin! Right after the opening ceremonies, at 5:00 PM, the “Witches of the World” panel will take place at the Festival Center, featuring Jaha Dukureh, Amanda Edmiston, and Michael Ostling. At 8:00 PM, the Grand Theatre will host the opera “I, Şeküre” by Aleksander Nowak, based on themes from Orhan Pamuk’s novel “My Name is Red.” At the same time, the uniquely voiced Jalen Ngonda will perform at Tama Club. Also from 8:00 PM, in the Old Warta Riverbed Park, you can enjoy a performance by the Witches’ Choir, led by Ewa Łowżył. At the Festival Club on Plac Wolności, Poté, the curator of the DJ program, will perform, and at 10:00 PM, a Silent Disco featuring the trio NOS—Agnieszka Szydłowska, Agnieszka Obszańska, and Michał Nogaś—will kick off in the same venue. At the same time, in the Polish Dance Theatre, the wild and unpredictable “My First Rave” by Agnieszka Jakimiak and Mateusz Atman will be showcased. And this is just the first day of the Malta Festival program!