The year 2025 in culture – milestones and encounters

An overview of the top editions of 2025 focusing on theatre, litearture, music and more

Corina Sabău, 10.01.2026, 14:00

As we were constantly involved in cinema and the visual arts throughout the year – exhibitions, premieres, festivals, and trends – our cultural review of the year 2025 will not cover these two areas. Instead, we’ll be looking at the other areas that gave substance to cultural life in 2025: theatre, literature, music, and the major events that mobilized the public.

Theatre remained one of the most vibrant spaces for social reflection. In 2025, the stages were taken by performances that addressed current issues: the fragility of democracy, identity, collective anxiety, the relationship between the individual and the community. One notable thing was the increased interest in hybrid forms – documentary theatre, performance, installation – and in interdisciplinary collaborations. Theatre festivals functioned not only as showcases, but also as platforms for debate, with meetings, discussions, and contexts for reflection that extended the life of the performances beyond the stage. The Sibiu International Theatre Festival continued to be one of the most visible cultural events in Romania. In 2025, the selection focused on performances that engaged directly with the social and political reality of the present, as well as on large-scale visual productions presented in public spaces. The festival once again succeeded in creating a community around theatre, in which the encounter between artists and spectators was as important as the performance itself. For a few days, the city became a vast stage, and theatre became a common language.

In literature, 2025 was a year of diversity. Prose continued to explore biography and recent history, while poetry gained more and more ground in the public sphere through performative readings and dedicated events. Book fairs and literary festivals brought together established authors and new voices, and translations played an important role in connecting Romanian literature with the international scene. Noteworthy in this respect is the growing interest from young audiences, drawn to more direct dialogue formats between authors and readers. On the literary scene, the Iași International Festival of Literature and Translation – FILIT – has remained an essential space for cultural dialogue. In 2025, encounters with Romanian writers and international guests were complemented by debates on translation, the circulation of ideas, and the role of literature in an increasingly fragmented world. FILIT has reaffirmed literature not only as an act of creation, but as a form of encounter and collective reflection. Its public, open dimension has strengthened the relationship between authors and readers, beyond formal launches or readings.

The music scene was extremely active in 2025. From classical music and jazz to experimental projects and large-scale concerts, the year showed an ever-greater openness to diversity. Festivals continued to serve as key landmarks, but so were indoor concerts, curated projects, and international collaborations. An important aspect was the emphasis on experience: not just the concert itself, but the context, the space, and the encounter between artists and audiences. One of the year’s major highlights was the George Enescu International Festival, which reconfirmed Bucharest’s status as a relevant space for major European musical gatherings. The 2025 edition featured an extensive program with top-tier orchestras and conductors, alongside special attention to contemporary music and reinterpretations of Enescu’s operas. The festival functioned not only as a prestigious event, but also as a space for education and access, through concerts and encounters dedicated to the general public. Its international dimension was matched by increased visibility for Romanian musicians, naturally integrated into the European dialogue.

Another strong point of 2025 was the renewed interest in heritage and public space. Artistic interventions, outdoor exhibitions, and community projects brought culture closer to people, beyond traditional institutions. There were initiatives that activated historic buildings, neighborhoods, or unconventional spaces. In this way, culture served as a tool for urban regeneration and social cohesion. (MI & VP)