Leipzig for tour operators

During the 20th memorial year of the terrorist attacks in New York, Yadegar Asis will be showing the panoramic painting he is working on entitled "NEW YORK 9/11" at the former gasometer in Saxony's trade fair city. The panorama picture will show the skyline of Manhattan and the Twin Towers at about 8 o'clock in the morning, just before the terrorist attacks. In contrast, on the way to the panorama, you will be led through the events of this fateful day and shown the effects of these events and the consequences of the disaster.

The Leipzig Book Fair with its reading festival "Leipzig liest" is the main event for the book and media industry. Authors, readers and publishers come together to find out more, exchange information and discover new things.

Since 1997, the a capella festival has transformed the city into a musical hub for the vocal music scene. For over a week, concerts are given by vocal groups from all corners of the a cappella world. Everything that is possible using just the human voice will be on stage at 'a cappella', ranging from famous groups and insider tips to young talent. The festival is led by the Leipzig vocal group amarcord and is fully in tune with its music: lively, exciting, varied and straight from the heart.

The Museum Night is a cult classic. The concept of a joint museum night, during which the museum landscape of the cities of Halle and Leipzig is opened one night a year and made more accessible with new, special offers, has paid off. Meanwhile, the joint Museum Night has developed independently of city and state borders into a major cultural event in both cities, with an audience of more than 20,000 visitors who greatly look forward to it.

The 2023 velo-city world cycling summit organised by the European Cyclists' Federation (ECF) will take place from 9 to 12 May at Leipzig Exhibition Centre. The conference is held at the Congress Centre Leipzig (CCL). The world cycling summit is hosted by the City of Leipzig together with ECF and Leipziger Messe. ECF chose to hold the event in Leipzig in recognition of the city's sustainable municipal development strategy, its progress and continued ambition to provide infrastructure for cycle traffic as well as its attractiveness as an event location for this leading global cycling conference.

The symphonic works of Gustav Mahler will be the focus of the 'Mahler Festival 2023', as it was in Leipzig that he became the Mahler we know today: a composer of captivating symphonies. Leipzig and the Gewandhausorchester promise a truly authentic setting for the festival, as Gustav Mahler spent two years of his life here and conducted the Gewandhausorchester on an almost daily basis.

The theme of the festival this year is 'my home country', showing numerous German premieres. The festival is accompanied by an extensive programme of films, discussions and music programmes. The main focus of the festival is experimental theatre by independent authors, artists and ensembles.

Since 1992, the Wave Gothic Festival (WGT) has been a major attraction for thousands of members of the Gothic scene from all over the world. Visitors can enjoy concerts as well as a varied programme of parties, shows, exhibitions and medieval markets during the four day festival. A highlight of the festival is the Victorian picnic in Clara Zetkin Park.

Each year, you are invited to see the trade fair city in a completely different light at the Leipzig City Festival. The festival offers around 150 hours of live events, plenty of local food and drinks, a colourful adventure playground for the youngest Leipzig fans and much more in Leipzig city centre.

Every year in June, the city of Leipzig honours its important Thomas Cantor Johann Sebastian Bach with the Bach Festival. The festival follows a tradition of honouring Bach that was originally initiated by Mendelssohn Bartholdy. This year's event under the motto 'BACH for Future' celebrates the 300th anniversary of Bach starting work in 1713 as a cantor at St. Thomas Church. Some 40 Bach choirs, societies, festivals and associations from six continents will be travelling to the city situated on the river Pleisse in 2023 to celebrate the composer in the city where he spent most of his working life and walk the paths of the widely ramified Bach family of musicians, who met once a year in the 17th and 18th centuries at a certain location in Thuringia to play music together.

The 32nd MDR Music Summer 2022 is presenting classical music, jazz and crossover at venues in Central Germany. Audiences can experience international and local artists including Valer Sabadus, the Trio Mediaeval and German Brass at a total of 50 concerts.

Once again, visitors are invited to taste wines and enjoy the occasion in Leipzig's market square at the 2023 edition of the annual wine festival. Here, vinters from various wine-growing areas of Germany, Austria and Hungary offer their wines and sparkling wines. There also is a stage with music and entertainment as well as food.

Every year, this open-air classical music event is a highlight of the Leipzig music scene. The Gewandhausorchester celebrates
various composers at its concerts in Rosental Park, drawing crowds of both young and old fans to this free event.

The 'European Go Congress 2023' is an annual event organised by the European Go Federation for Go players of all standards. The Go championships are in the centre stage as the highlight of the congress. This two-week congress with over 1,000 players from all over the world also offers various workshops, evening events and smaller tournaments. 

The market offers visitors an attractive programme spiced with culinary delicacies. The colourful mix of classical music, jazz, swing, musical numbers as well as rock and pop provides entertainment for the whole family and admission is free.

As part of the chamber music festival, there are concerts in the historical places where each composer who influenced the Leipzig tradition of music lived and worked. These include Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Johann Sebastian Bach, Edward Grieg and Richard Wagner as well as Clara and Robert Schumann.

True to the mission of offering a 'window to the world', Germany's largest and Europe's second-largest documentary film festival presents the best new animated and documentary films from over 50 countries. Every year, thousands of viewers from Germany and the world discover around 350 extraordinary, exciting and artistically outstanding films in twelve cinemas.

Leipzig commemorates the first major Monday demonstration and the Peaceful Revolution in the GDR with a large number of events. The Leipzig Festival of Lights is held every year to commemorate the autumn of 1989. It is the emotional highlight of the day and attracts thousands of visitors to its important sites year after year.

Every year in October, military history societies from all over Europe come to Leipzig and Markkleeberg to commemorate the Battle of the Nations together. The organisers are expecting around 2000 participants dressed in historical uniforms who will show bivouacs, a battle display and civilian scenes, among other things. This year, the event will celebrate its 210th anniversary.

One of the oldest and most renowned jazz festivals in Germany is the International Leipzig Jazz Days. Every autumn, the Jazzclub Leipzig presents more than 100 musicians over the course of ten days with big names and jazz pioneers as well as innovative newcomers. Concerts are played at the Opera and the Schauspielhaus theatre, in the historical Congress Centre at the Zoo, in churches as well as in numerous scene clubs and in the oldest cinema in the city, UT Connewitz.

The 33rd "Lachmesse" European Festival for Humour and Satire will present around 90 events with over 150 artists from nine countries. Particularly outstanding artists are awarded the "Leipziger Löwenzahn" (Leipzig dandelion) festival prize. The international festival is staged at 14 venues across Leipzig including the "Kabarett academixer" traditional house of cabaret.

The Grassimesse is an international forum for applied art and product design in the tradition of the historical Grassimesse, which was founded in 1920 and has become famous as the "meeting place of modernity". The festival is complemented by fashion shows, parties and film screenings.

In 2022, on the 175th anniversary of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's death and the 25th birthday of the Mendelssohn House, the focus will be on Mendelssohn's masterpieces and music from the period of Romanticism. The Mendelssohn Festival is a cooperation between the Leipzig Gewandhaus and the Mendelssohn House There will be numerous concerts and works by his sister Fanny will also be performed. Various guests including Gidon Kremer, Jörg Widmann and Monica Erdmann will be playing at these concerts. The highlight of the festival is Andrés Orozco-Estrada conducting two concerts with the Gewandhaus Orchestra.

The euro-scene Leipzig, a festival of contemporary European theatre, takes place annually in November. It was founded in 1991. euro-scene Leipzig presents the latest developments in the European dance and theatre scene and annually stages around 10 different guest performances with a total of approximately 25 performances at various venues. These venues include the stages of the Schauspielhaus theatre, the Leipzig Opera and the independent scene as well as unusual locations for guests to discover. Dance and spoken theatre are on offer as well as performances and musical stage forms and a play for children. 

The tradition of the Leipzig Christmas Market dates back to 1458. Embedded in the fascinating historical backdrop of the city centre and with its 250 stands, it is one of the largest and most beautiful Christmas markets in Germany. Culturally, the Christmas Market is framed by festive concerts by the St. Thomas Choir, organ music in the churches and a variety of other programmes.