Europe Day 2026: Celebrating the Strength of Togetherness

The main Europe Day celebration on 9 May turned Skopje’s City Park into a vibrant meeting place of music, creativity, and civic initiative. Despite occasional light rain, around 5,000 citizens enjoyed an all-day programme featuring popular local musicians — Dina Jashari, Zwada, Conquering Lyon, Daphunk & Double G, and Emily Nas & Martina Peneva —as well as children performances (by Eureka Dance Company – including children with disabilities), outdoor games, slow food, and opportunities to discover local eco-businesses, buy second hand stuff, and learn about urban greenery. 

Music was also at the heart of Europe Day activities in Bitola. In addition to launching the celebratory programme in the country on 4 May with a concert by the FAMES Institute Orchestra, Bitola also hosted a double live performance on 14 May featuring Funk Shui and local electronic artist Dejan Dex.

In Veles, the spotlight shifted to the environment. On 12 May, citizens, local organisations, and representatives of the EU Delegation, EU Member States, and the Municipality gathered near Lake Mladost — an area badly affected by wildfires — to plant 3,000 tree seedlings.

Europe House Tetovo put the focus on literature on 19 May with a book fair that gathered publishing houses, authors, students, and book lovers for a day of discussion and activities, including panel talks with writers and children’s events.

Educational and exchange opportunities for young people were the theme of the event organised by Europe House Strumica in Shtip on 21 May, which included an EU opportunities fair and a discussion titled ‘Opportunities Without Borders: Youth, Erasmus+ and the EU’.

The Europe Month programme concluded on 6 June in Struga with a cross-border cycling tour around Lake Ohrid and a community festival. Organised by Europe House Struga in cooperation with Europe House Tirana and the EU Delegations to North Macedonia and Albania, the initiative brought together 80 international cyclists for a 90 km-route. And sent a strong message in support of sustainable mobility, environmental awareness, and cross-border cooperation.

Across the country, local youth councils also added their own creativity to the celebrations. In Gevgelija, Kochani, Ohrid, and Shtip, they organised events dedicated to poetry, film, art, solidarity, and youth participation and entrepreneurship. In Kochani, for example, around 20 young artists turned the stairs of the town’s shopping centre into a mural celebrating diversity, humanity, and self-expression.

As every year, the celebrations in Skopje also included a Europe Day reception – this year with the winner of The Voice of Europe 2025 Tina Ruseva (she is from North Macedonia and lives in Germany), performing the national anthem, accompanied by musicians Bojana Mitkovska, Marija Riatovska and Viktor Manev.

Also, a conference marking 30 years of diplomatic relations between the EU and North Macedonia took place, where participants reflected on the country’s EU path. As this year marks 40 years of EU membership for Spain and Portugal, the ambassadors of the two countries in Skopje presented the significant economic, democratic, and social benefits of accession — and the ways in which their countries contributed to the EU project, making it not only bigger, but also stronger.