Bit Fest 2026 to conclude with Foltin’s 30th‑anniversary concert at Heraclea

Bit Fest 2026 will close on 29 August with a commemorative concert by the Bitola band Foltin, marking the group's 30th anniversary. The event on the Heraclea plateau was announced at a press conference where local officials and festival organisers reviewed a summer of performances that drew thousands to the city.

Program and attendance

Mayor Toni Konjanovski praised the Cultural and Informational Centre (KIC) for organising this year’s Bit Fest for the first time and highlighted the festival’s ability to bring cultural programmes to multiple city locations. He noted that the festival included new events such as the Bitola Chalgi Days, which filled the Old Bazaar with music and celebration.

“The interest and presence of the audience at every event, the long ovations, were a reward for the artists but also for the Cultural and Informational Centre that realised this festival with the support of the Municipality of Bitola.

It was lively and musical on several locations — here in front of and inside the Officers’ House, Heraclea, Shirok Sokak, the Old Bazaar, Pacio, the Centre for Culture, the theatre.

Besides Bitola residents, the programme appealed to tourists who visited Bitola and to numerous expatriates who returned to their hometown this summer.

What pleases me is that Bitola has traditional summer festivals that year by year become better and better and under the umbrella of the recognisable ‘Bit Fest’ they nurture culture, tradition and art. The best domestic, Balkan, European and world performers were in Bitola, and all of them are our greatest cultural and artistic ambassadors,” the mayor said.

Dimitar Mihajlovski, director of the KIC, reported that more than 70 events were held over the past two months and attendance exceeded 21,000. He described the centre as having proven itself “as a serious institution for organising large events that are part of a festival like Bit Fest.”

Mihajlovski recalled the season’s opening with the musical Kao Kao and the new Bitola Chalgi Days, which also introduced the Bitola Chalgi Orchestra. He confirmed that the festival’s finale will feature Foltin’s anniversary concert and announced two upcoming appearances in September: the play UNA by the Zvezdara Theatre from Belgrade on 10 September at the theatre in Bitola, and a concert by Mizar on the plateau in front of the Officers’ House on 13 September.

The band Foltin said that some cities have an audience, while Bitola has accomplices: “Thirty years together we grew, changed and met at concerts. From clubs to theatres. From small stages to Heraclea. From a few curious people to generations who know the songs by heart. This summer we will meet again. We are honoured that our concert marking 30 years of Foltin will be the closing chord of Bit Fest 2026,” the group said, and presented Mayor Konjanovski with a vinyl record.

The festive closing concert by Foltin takes place on 29 August at 20:00 on the Heraclea plateau.

Photo: press material from the event