WATER & SOUND Festival Augsburg

A Festival Centered on Water, Sound, and World Heritage

The WATER & SOUND Festival in Augsburg is a cultural event that combines contemporary world music with visual arts, water projects, and social dialogue formats. It evolved from the former Augsburg Festival of Cultures and focuses on water as a global resource. Augsburg has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2019 for its historic water management system – the festival uses this identity as a common thread.

2026 Program: "Waterways"

Under the guiding theme "Waterways," the 2026 edition explores how canals, rivers, and sea routes have shaped cities, history, and today's global interconnections. International acts and bands from around the world, from Brazil to Nigeria, will perform at the Annahof. An exclusive in-house production on July 30th in the Parktheater is one of the program's highlights.

Art, Performances, and World Heritage Sites

The festival's themes are explored further through an art installation in the former Dominican church of St. Magdalena, performances at Kuhsee and in the Siebentischwald forest, as well as panels, workshops, and guided tours at the World Heritage sites. This creates a multi-layered program that interweaves concerts, art, and knowledge transfer.

Significance in Bavaria

Augsburg is located in the Swabia administrative region of Bavaria, an independent city and the third-largest city in the Free State. The WATER & SOUND Festival is part of the Augsburg City Summer and positions the city as a place where the World Heritage theme of water is discussed culturally and internationally. Admission to many program points is free or donation-based.