Maimarkt 2026 – Kultur für Europa in the metropolitan region

On the first day, the stand became more than an exhibition surface. Verein Stadtbild e.V. presented 'Schätze unserer Stadt erhalten' and immediately raised the question of the cultural value of cityscape and memory. Prof. David-Emil Wickström, Kemal Muhittin and Caner Korkmaz then opened the stand as a stage with world music. Kanun, bağlama, kemençe and trumpet turned the opening into a direct space of encounter: the Capital of Culture idea was not merely explained, but became audible and approachable.

The music industry talks showed how broadly cultural work has to be understood today: publishing, management, concerts, production, young talent and the stage belong together. Künstlernachlässe Mannheim asked what remains of artistic lives and how this becomes city history. Michael Menges spoke about changed value creation in a digitalised music industry; Umut Can Ergül, the U CAN Music School and young pop voices made audible how tradition, production and the present meet in the region.

When the Rheinauer Seebären sang, the audience did not remain at a distance. Founded in 1995, the shanty choir brought a familiar and accessible energy into the fair space with 8 musicians and 24 singers. Earlier, Michael Herberger and Helen Heberer had discussed how generative AI changes composition, production, marketing and copyright. This contrast made the day strong: future technology and collective singing did not stand against each other, but showed two forms of regional cultural strength.

The exhibitions gave the bid depth. Stadtbild Mannheim, Künstlernachlässe Mannheim, the Kurpfälzisches Museum with Regina Relang's fashion photography and the Heidelberger Schlossgespräche showed that the region already has a grown cultural foundation. The programme dealt with buildings, archives, models, fashion photography, estates and public spaces. At the Maimarkt, this substance was not shown as something closed off, but as material for the present and future: what do we preserve, what do we show, and how does it become a shared regional project?

This chapter brings two timelines together: the European Youth Orchestra as a view of young European collaboration and the Alte Sternwarte as a place of scientific history. The presentation pointed to 80 young musicians from 17 European nations coming together in Mannheim in September. Heidelberg Cultural Office added the municipal level and the Kultur-Pass context. Later, the Alte Sternwarte opened a view onto a building where astronomical research was conducted between 1775 and 1880. Together, it becomes clear that a Capital of Culture bid is not only about preserving heritage, but also about passing it on, education and new European connections.

Alongside talks and exhibitions, the stand repeatedly became a small stage. The programme ranged from the Popakademie Electronic Orchestra to youth theatre, contemporary dance, the brass philharmonic, a tuba quartet, baritone Joachim Goltz, Toni Berardi and Jan Kalt from Tonstudio Schraubfabrik. For short moments, the fair hall became a rehearsal room, theatre space, concert venue and studio window. The performances showed the breadth of a region that cannot be reduced to a single cultural language.

The Maimarkt was also a working place for the association. Regional press, Mannheim's mayor Christian Specht, Minister Peter Hauk and mayors from the metropolitan region came together at the stand, gathered information and made the region's involvement visible. Between setup, daily programme, conversations, sponsors, association work and evening exhaustion, a realistic picture emerged of what Capital of Culture work means. This was the strength of the eleven days: culture was not only presented, but connected and organised.