For its 7th edition, the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) is thrilled to bring the Asia-Europe Cultural Festival to the vibrant city of Shanghai, China. Partnering with the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre’s iconic ACT Shanghai International Theatre Festival, AECFest 2025 will deliver a dynamic programme of artistic expressions by creative forces from across both regions.

Since its founding in 2005, ACT Shanghai International Theatre Festival has become a landmark event in China’s performing arts scene. Every year, ACT presents cutting-edge productions from both China and around the world, fostering connections between artists and audiences that transcend language and geography. Over the past decade, the Festival has welcomed performances from over 50 countries, reaching nearly half a million spectators.

Following the successful “festival within a festival” model piloted in 2024 with Oriente Occidente in Italy, the 2025 edition of AECFest will feature a curated line-up of events featuring artists from China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Viet Nam, Myanmar, Singapore and Spain.

Commencing with a thought-provoking contemporary dance piece accompanied by live music in Krakow, Poland, the Festival’s Curtain Raiser explores the relationship between humans and their seemingly stationery surroundings, aptly set against the background of the iconic Manggha Museum.

Traveling to China for the first time, the Main Festival will take place with across the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre and Cervantes Institute in Shanghai, featuring a rich array of programmes ranging from contemporary dance, multidisciplinary performances, theatre and film.

The year will conclude with Closing Curtain events taking place in October in Singapore as well as Lao PDR, in conjuction with Meeting Point. Both segments of the closing curtain are organised in partnership with local institutions, including the Asian Civilisations Museum, the Substation, Mekong Cultural Hub and more.

Through these events, the Asia-Europe Cultural Festival continues to foster artistic exchange and deepen understanding between the two regions, engaging governments, cultural institutions, and the wider public.