The Sarajevo Rocks 2026 youth music event brought together hundreds of young musicians from BiH, the region and Europe on Bosnia and Herzegovina Square in Sarajevo, who performed together to mark World Music Day and send a message of unity.
The mayor of Sarajevo, Samir Avdić, said that this is another beautiful event for the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the simple reason that the youth of not only the city of Sarajevo, but also the region and the whole of Europe are gathered.
“A beautiful day, a beautiful Sunday in the city and, of course, a very important cultural event for Sarajevo,” said the mayor.
One of the organizers, producer Berbić Zlatko, said that the World Music Day was marked by sending a global message from Sarajevo, with the participation of young people from a total of 28 cities from BiH, the region and Europe.
“We all celebrate youth and the future together with music. Our country is what our youth decides to be,” said Berbić.
He added that Bosnia and Herzegovina has a long musical tradition and that this event connects the past and the future.
“BiH has behind it the tradition of the pop-rock school from the early 60s. We sing the songs of those generations and this afternoon we present new bands from Sarajevo, which in a way will be the future generation. We connected everything, Bijelo dugme, Indexe, the future and the past,” he emphasized.
He pointed out the large number of participants, but emphasized that the essence is in togetherness.
“There are more than 600 participants, but that is not important at all. What is important is togetherness and that everyone together sounds as if there are a million of them,” said Berbić.
Director of “Pop Rock School Sarajevo” and musical director of the Sarajevo Rocks event, Mima Zukan, stated that the realization of the project followed months of preparation, with a great response from participants and organizations.
“After six months of preparation, we have finally reached this day. As we announced, more than 35 music organizations are here today. I am very happy that there is great interest and that almost 80 of those who said they would come are actually here,” said Zukan.
She emphasized that the preparations were successful, with good spirits among the participants and a strong sense of togetherness.
“The rehearsal went fantastically. The young people are in a good mood. I see that everyone is playing and singing together, which makes me very happy. This networking is exactly what we need,” she emphasized.
She also announced the event’s program, which will be divided into two segments.
“The program will last two hours. The first part starts at 1:00 p.m. It is a collective group performance with more than 600 participants. The second part of the program starts at 2:00 p.m., where we will present young, original and cover bands,” said Zukan.
Sarajevo Rocks 2026 gathers hundreds of young musicians from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the region and Europe, with the aim of sending a strong message of connection, energy, togetherness and faith in young people through music.
