On July 18–19, Warsaw celebrates 72 years since the reopening of the Old Town Square and 80 years since the city’s post-war reconstruction began.
On July 18–19, Warsaw celebrates 72 years since the reopening of the Old Town Square and 80 years since the city’s post-war reconstruction began.
The event kicks off with a concert at New Town Market Square. Internationally acclaimed countertenor and Warsaw native Jakub Józef Orliński will perform alongside pianist Michał Biel. Orliński, praised by The New Yorker as the “Justin Timberlake of opera,” recently appeared at the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony. The evening opens with a performance by V FILAR, a young rap group reinterpreting the story of Warsaw’s youth through hip-hop. Archival photos from the Museum of Warsaw will accompany the music and the evening concludes with a silent disco in the Old Town Square.
On July 19, the stage belongs to the Dance Orchestra Melody and Rhythm, founded by Jan Młynarski and Jacek Namysłowski. Inspired by 1940s jazz bands, they’ll bring the sound and spirit of post-war dance halls to life. That same evening, improvisational theatre group Klancyk, with Jan Emil Młynarski, presents a performance blending music, memory and storytelling.
Visitors can also explore normally inaccessible courtyards, studios and cellars, with guided tours highlighting hidden corners and architectural details of Old and New Town. At the Old Arsenal SCEK building, everyone is invited to leave a handprint on a collective canvas – Greetings from Warsaw’s Old Town – a symbolic tribute to the city’s reconstruction.
