ASEF Culture is delighted to announce the launch of the 8th edition of the Asia-Europe Cultural Festival (AECFest), which will unfold across multiple formats and locations throughout 2026. 

AECFest 2026 will open with a Curtain Raiser event in Hong Kong on 23 April 2026. The Main Festival programme takes place in Utrecht, the Netherlands, from 14 to 23 May 2026, followed by a Closing Curtain event in Singapore, as well as the Residency Programme running throughout the year. Together, these components reflect ASEF’s continued commitment to long-term artistic exchange and collaboration between Asia and Europe. 

The Curtain Raiser event, organised in collaboration with Tai Kwun Arts Centre and part of their annual performing arts programme SPOTLIGHT, is a riveting theatre piece that invites the audience to walk the fine line between perception and reality.

Hosted for the first time in the Netherlands, the Main Festival in Utrecht marks a new milestone in AECFest’s journey as a platform for cultural exchange and artistic collaboration between Asia and Europe. Presented in collaboration with SPRING Performing Arts Festival, this edition reinforces ASEF’s commitment to fostering dialogue through contemporary artistic practices. Conceived as a festival-in-a-festival, AECFest will be presented as a dedicated focus on Asia–Europe artistic exchange within SPRING’s wider programme. Audiences will experience a curated selection of performances, films, installations, video art, and multidisciplinary works by artists from across Asia and Europe. 

This edition also marks the third consecutive year in which AECFest will be hosted within a prestigious international arts platform, following previous collaborations in Italy in 2024 and China in 2025. 

The Festival will close in Singapore on 19 June with a contemporary dance performance that examines how we embody memory, sensation and time. The Closing Curtain will be presented in collaboration with T.H.E Dance Company and con:tact dance festival at Esplanade Theatres on the Bay. 

Visit AECFest website to discover the full 2026 programme.

Main Image @Daniel Kok, “Home Bound” by Daniel Kok and Luke George, generated with MidJourney(AI).