The Slovak Agricultural Museum will host a Beekeeping Festival featuring traditional craft markets, honey and mead tastings, and demonstrations of honey extraction. The event celebrates Slovakia's beekeeping traditions and offers visitors hands-on experiences with honey production and related crafts.
Bratislava's Academy of Fine Arts and Design will open an exhibition showcasing textile miniatures, a specialized art form that emerged in the 1970s. The artistic discipline is defined by strict dimensional limits of 20 × 20 × 20 centimeters, creating a unique category within contemporary textile art. The exhibition will be held at the institution commonly known as "Umelka," which serves as Slovakia's premier art education facility and regularly hosts exhibitions featuring both student work and established artists.
The Fund for the Support of Arts (FPU), Slovakia's state cultural funding agency, has begun sending contract amendments to cultural organizations with existing multi-year agreements. However, the amendments have not yet been distributed to all recipients of multi-year funding contracts, according to cultural organizations. The FPU is responsible for distributing state funding to theaters, galleries, cultural centers, and other arts institutions across Slovakia. Multi-year contracts provide cultural organizations with financial stability by guaranteeing funding over several years rather than requiring annual applications.
A Slovak comedy project called 'Kavej 2' is launching a summer tour that will bring performances directly to audiences across the country. The Kavej Festival project is expanding to take on a nationwide dimension, marking a significant development in Slovakia's entertainment scene as organizers work to reach broader audiences beyond traditional venue locations.
František Kudláč, a Slovak academic painter, died at the age of 71. Kudláč was recognized with the title of academic painter, a formal designation in Slovakia's art community that acknowledges significant artistic achievement and contribution to the country's cultural landscape.
The 70th Eurovision Song Contest is facing accusations of vote manipulation that allegedly benefited Israel's entry. Critics claim that Israel's success in the competition required only a small number of voters, according to an investigation into the voting process. The controversy has transformed what is typically considered the show of the year into a test of confidence in Eurovision's voting rules and procedures.
A young Slovak film graduate, Vojtěch Javůrek, has been conducting extensive research into the 'manosphere' community for an upcoming documentary project. Javůrek immersed himself in the world of so-called 'pickup artists' by watching videos created by Czech and Slovak content creators who teach men how to approach women on the street, monitoring their discussion forums, and directly communicating with ten members of this community. The director is gathering material to create films about the manosphere, a loose network of online communities focused on masculinity and male-female relationships that has gained attention in recent years for its controversial approaches to dating and gender relations.
The Eurovision Song Contest is confronting its most significant boycott in seven decades, with several countries planning to broadcast their own alternative programming instead of participating in or airing the competition. The widespread protests have extended beyond Eurovision, with demonstrations also taking place at the Venice Biennale art exhibition. The boycotts represent an unprecedented challenge to one of Europe's longest-running and most-watched television events, which has been a cornerstone of European cultural cooperation since its inception in 1956.
A nighttime entertainment program held at Spiš Castle has drawn criticism from conservationists who called the event "against common sense." The castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of Europe's largest medieval castle complexes located in eastern Slovakia, hosted what appears to have been a commercial show that raised concerns about the preservation of the historic monument. Local municipal authorities defended their decision, stating they did not violate any laws in permitting the event. The controversy highlights ongoing tensions between tourism promotion and heritage conservation at Slovakia's most important historical sites.
The Eurovision Song Contest is confronting one of the biggest crises in its history as its traditional policy of political neutrality becomes increasingly difficult to maintain. The annual music competition, currently taking place in Vienna, is operating under heightened security with reinforced police patrols monitoring the venue as storm clouds gather both literally and metaphorically over the event. The crisis reflects growing tensions over how the contest, which has historically sought to remain apolitical while celebrating European unity through music, can navigate an increasingly polarized geopolitical landscape. The contrast between the tense atmosphere outside the arena, where attendees wait in raincoats behind concrete barriers, and the colorful spectacle inside highlights the challenges facing organizers as they attempt to preserve the contest's festive spirit while addressing mounting political pressures.
A historian has revealed previously unknown details about architectural heritage in Slovakia's Tatra Mountains, including properties that underwent questionable privatization processes with alleged criminal connections and state-owned villas that remain locked and inaccessible to the public. The research highlights concerns about the preservation of historic mountain architecture, with warnings that some buildings may be lost forever, leaving only postcards as evidence of their existence. The Tatra Mountains, located along Slovakia's northern border with Poland, contain numerous historic buildings from various periods that reflect the region's development as a tourist and recreational destination.
The Slovak government has allocated 50 million euros from the Modernization Fund to renovate 50 cultural buildings across the country, including castles, libraries, and cultural centers. The initiative, overseen by the ministries led by ministers Taraba and Šimkovičová, aims to transform deteriorating heritage monuments into modern community centers. The renovation project represents a significant investment in preserving Slovakia's cultural infrastructure while adapting historic buildings for contemporary use as active centers of public life.
The Matej Kováč Library in Banská Bystrica has completed the first phase of its comprehensive renovation project. The mayor expressed satisfaction that the renovated library will serve as an important community hub, providing a meeting place for all generations from children to seniors. The project represents a significant investment in cultural infrastructure for the central Slovak city.
A new podcasting studio called PostCast has opened in Žilina, Slovakia's fourth-largest city located in the northwestern part of the country. The facility is housed in an administrative building on Poštová Street 1 in Vlčince, the city's largest residential district. The studio aims to serve both professional content creators and amateur podcasting enthusiasts, expanding the range of media production services available in the region.
The Eurovision Song Contest commenced in Vienna with only 35 countries participating, marking the lowest number of participants since 2004. Five countries have chosen to boycott this year's competition, while three nations are returning to the contest after previous absences. The reduced participation reflects ongoing tensions affecting the annual European music competition, which traditionally brings together dozens of countries from across the continent and beyond.
Theater Without Home, a theatrical group featuring homeless performers, will present 'Medusa in the Kitchen' on May 13, 2026, at 5:00 PM in the left wing of Pistori Palace on Štefánikova Street in Bratislava. The performance explores connections between homeless women and the mythological figure Medusa, and is intended for audiences aged 16 and older. The theater company uses performance to give voice to homeless individuals and address social issues through artistic expression.
Cinema Lumiére in Bratislava will screen selected Slovak feature and short films from the previous year as part of Slovak Film Day celebrations running from May 11 to 15. The cinema programming provides professional evaluation and showcase of recent Slovak cinematic productions, highlighting the country's domestic film industry achievements from the past year.
Preparatory work worth 750,000 euros has been completed at Krásna Hôrka Castle in eastern Slovakia, though no active construction is currently taking place at the site. The medieval castle was destroyed by fire on March 10, 2012, leaving the historic structure severely damaged. The completion of preparatory work represents a step forward in the long restoration process of one of Slovakia's most significant cultural monuments, though the timeline for full reconstruction remains unclear.
Trieste, the Italian port city located just five and a half hours from Bratislava, has become an increasingly attractive destination for Slovak tourists seeking a unique European experience. The city offers visitors a distinctive blend of Italian and Central European culture, combining Italian coastal charm with Austrian-influenced architecture reminiscent of Vienna. Beyond shopping opportunities, Trieste provides travelers with access to the Adriatic Sea, fresh pastries, and what many consider exceptional espresso coffee, making it an appealing spring getaway destination for those seeking both cultural diversity and seaside relaxation within easy reach of Slovakia.
Daniel Štrauch, Slovakia's most prominent YouTuber, has announced his return to content creation after an extended absence from the platform. The internet personality is launching a completely new channel, marking a fresh start in his online career. Štrauch filmed his comeback video in China, signaling his return to the video-sharing platform where he originally gained widespread recognition among Slovak audiences. The content creator is starting from zero with his new venture, leaving behind his previous online presence to rebuild his following on the new channel.