BNCN visiting – Southern Sweden Circus Festival 2026
Last week we had the joy of being part of the PRO days for the Southern Sweden Circus Festival! Although we were part of the activities held in Lund, the festival itself spreads across 17 municipalities around Skåne, bringing circus in many different forms and traditions to bigger and smaller living spaces.
For us, the festival was not only a visit, but it was a great insight into the dynamics and state of the art of the Swedish circus industry. We experienced both meeting with colleagues and seeing the portrait of Sweden - a look into the past, present and innovations with a future directionality.
A look at the tradition and history
SSCF has an approach of collaborating beyond what is called "contemporary circus". The organisers are curious about the circus heritage, traditions and possible futures at the same time.
We had the opportunity to visit the movie "Cirkusdirektören" about the life and work of Tilde Björfors, which was followed by a conversation with her about the life and creation process of some of the most famous Cirkus Cirkör performances.
A few days before, the movie "A Place in the Ring" was presented, which focuses on the current and future perspectives of a crucial discipline in circus history that is slowly disappearing and sometimes even shunned in the contemporary circus ecosystem - horse training.
During the whole festival, next to a more contemporary circus festival program was Cirkus Brazil Jack, offering a more traditional circus experience.
A look at what is going on
On day 2, we delved into the current events happening both in Skåne and Denmark - a neighbouring circus ecosystem that is in very close dynamics. Between many great projects and new initiatives, we also heard more about a few of our own members!
Riksteatern Skåne overview of the current circus activities available in the region,
Acting for Climate with their newest creation Alive,
DYNAMO with their exciting programme, festival and renovation works,
Karavan with their impressive and exciting expansion and inspiring community building approach
The roadmap will be published online as an after-festival outcome, so we hope it will be available to everyone interested.
We also had a chance to join an excursion to the organiser venue - Cirkus Syd. Both in their training space, residencies, and workshops and heard more about their collaboration with the Lund Municipality.
Another panel that we visited was organised by cirkuscentrum – an ongoing project of collecting portraits of Swedish circus artists, their methods and practices. We saw only 8, but you can find more by looking here – https://www.cirkuscentrum.se/artistic-voices
And a sneak peek into the innovations of our industry
This was the first year when SSCF presented the Innovation Inspiration prize. This is an initiative that puts in the spotlight currently important innovators in contemporary circus.
6 nominations this time were:
Erik Åberg - who blends science and juggling
Tom Brand - for creating new spaces for circus
Saloranta and de Vylder - who go beyond the expected artistically and personally
Vejde Grind - for blending the borders between circus and music - winner of the 2026 edition
Erik Rosales - who explores the AI role in identity
Arriana Slyd from Arenaslöjd - who blends woodworking craft with circus
The prize is intended to be given every year to acknowledge the innovation and celebrate the different artists who actively break the rules and stretch the possibilities of circus as a medium. This prize is supported by the City of Lund, whose focus is very much on Lund as being a centre for innovation. We are very happy to see a municipality that sees how circus is an integral part of this process and the future of the whole city.
On this note, we want to thank our members Cirkus Syd for organising these warm and exciting PRO days and wishing the best of luck with the next editions!
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Southern Sweden Circus Festival is run by Cirkus Syd in collaboration with Lund Municipality and with support from Region Skåne, Visit Skåne, the Cultural Committee, the Swedish Artists' Council's international circus program and the EU. This is done in collaboration with several major players such as Riksteatern Skåne and Cirkus Brazil Jack.
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