With just under 17,000 visitors and a capacity utilisation rate of 91.8 per cent, the THEATER DER WELT festival in Chemnitz came to a close last weekend.
The largely sold-out performances and the high level of interest even in the run-up to the event are testament to the festival’s strong reception. Around a third of the audience travelled from outside the city, including numerous national and international industry professionals. Thanks in part to extensive media coverage and a reach of millions via social media channels – amplified by the participating artists from Indonesia, Iran, the Czech Republic, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Japan, France, South Africa, Colombia and many other countries – Chemnitz came into the international spotlight.
The programme was developed through a unique collective curatorial process involving nine international curators and comprised 33 productions from around the world. It featured three world premieres, eleven European premieres and 18 German premieres. Introductions, post-performance discussions and artist talks further transformed the festival into a space for exchange. In total, more than 200 events took place, featuring over 400 artists.
The ITI would like to thank Chemnitz for the outstanding organisation of the 17th edition of THEATER DER WELT, in particular the Theater Chemnitz, Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH and The Festival Academy, which jointly organised the festival, as well as the festival directors Dr Christoph Dittrich, Stefan Schmidtke and Inge Ceustermans, and the entire team.
Read the official press release from THEATER DER WELT marking the end of the festival here (GER).