BitterSweet 2 was only the second edition. The Poznań festival with a stellar line-up of global stars!

Months of work by dozens of people turned into three days of festival madness at Poznań’s Cytadela. BitterSweet Festival returned to the capital of Wielkopolska, the world around it turned pink again, nostalgia took over the city, and international stars of popular music fell in love with Poznań. Across four stages, 46 concerts took place, attended by 96,000 people from Wielkopolska, across Poland and abroad. BitterSweet 2 has gone down in history, leaving behind a bittersweet sense of wanting more. Next year’s edition has also been announced!

Three days, four festival stages, 46 concerts, six partner stages, 86 DJs, nine BitterSweet Talks conversations, two conversations in Safe Spots, eight major accompanying events (including an intergenerational prom and the premiere of the BitterSweet with Przemysławkafragrance), and 2,745 minutes of music from the stages. That is BitterSweet 2 in numbers — a festival created by 3,500 people.

Thursday’s meeting up on melancholy hill

The hill by the BitterSweet Stage, the festival’s main field, which became famous during BitterSweet 1, once again had a front-row view of performances by the biggest stars, with Gorillaz closing Thursday’s programme. A long-awaited concert, a dream come true for many and spectacular for others — for everyone, it was an unforgettable audiovisual show featuring tracks from the latest album “The Mountain” as well as iconic songs such as “On Melancholy Hill”, “19-200” and “Feel Good Inc.” Lorde was also a star of Thursday evening. Her interpretation of pop blended with rock alternative is hypnotic, while her live performances are a world-class spectacle appreciated by the Poznań audience and fans who travelled from all over Poland.

On Thursday, Paul Kalkbrenner also delivered an outstanding show on the Enea Stage, preceded by Meute, much loved by Polish audiences. That day, Becky Hill, Jessie J, Sophia Stel, Charlie Jeer and Tommy Cash also performed for festivalgoers on the BitterSweet Stage and Enea Stage.

The first day of BitterSweet 2 also offered the chance to discover lesser-known but already recognised artists on the Next Stage (Bricknasty, ZEP, MPH), as well as talks as part of BitterSweet Talks hosted on the PKO Bank Polski Stage by Bliskoznaczni with Bartłomiej Topa, and by Wiktoria Kinik with Joanna Jóźwik and Marta Kożuchowska. In the evening, the stage turned into a musical feast for jazz and blues lovers, featuring Blue Jazz Orchestra & Paulina Przybysz, hoshii and Warszawska Orkiestra Sentymentalna.

There’s no place like home — festival Friday

The second day of BitterSweet 2 welcomed festivalgoers from the very first minutes with perfect weather and energetic concerts, interwoven throughout the day with the festival’s signature note of nostalgia and reflection. Mrozu, the first Polish artist on the line-up, performed on the BitterSweet Stage, proving that the stage is his home. Tens of thousands of people sang along to “Złoto”, “Aura” and “Jak nie my to kto”, before Rita Ora captivated the crowd with her energy. The English singer made no secret of how moved she was to be performing for such a large audience, who seemed to know the words to every song. The artist’s delight was echoed by audience comments, with many saying that the concert had significantly increased the number of her fans. Tom Odell provided a moment for reflection and memories of schooldays, enchanting the Cytadela. The artist returned to Poznań after eight years and moved the audience once again — his setlist included “Don’t Let Me Go”, “Grow Old With Me” and the now-iconic “Another Love”, which he played at the end and which was sung back to him by 40,000 fans. Shortly afterwards, the same crowd, partly dressed in fan gear, greeted Twenty One Pilots with an enormous roar of excitement. The Americans regularly visit Poland, but their Poznań concert still won them new fans. For one of them, Kornel, the event was especiallymemorable, as he sang a fragment of the single “Ride” together with the band!

Friday on the Enea Stage featured Leisure, Ashnikko’s theatrical show, a heartfelt and captivating performance by Chet Faker, electropop from Parcels, and a set by one of the world’s biggest DJs, Alok. On the Next Stage, maks.tachasiuk, winner of the NEXT FEST Award 2026, performed for the second time in the festival’s two-year history, alongside electronic music and pulsating rhythms from Ebbb and Nashville, USA-based In Parallel.

That day, the PKO Bank Polski Stage was taken over by Orkiestra Kameralna Polskiego Radia Amadeus, which invited Michał Stochel, Maxima Sitarz and Break me Amadeus to perform. They were preceded by Bliskoznaczni’s conversations with Mikołaj Bagiński and Urszula Dudziak, as well as a meeting between Anna Parzyńska-Paschke and Radosław Kulup from Niezwyczajni, who spoke about history as a way to build identity and understand the present.

Top-tier pop — the king of entertainment in a Warta Poznań shirt

The final day of the second edition of BitterSweet Festival was an emotional rollercoaster — on one hand, Sobel, hugely popular with Polish audiences, and Ciara’s first-ever concert in Poland, by one of the biggest stars of popular music; on the other, one of Oki’s few concertsthis year; and finally, Robbie Williams’ tear-jerking performance. The artist took festivalgoers on a journey into the past, performing the biggest hits from his decades-long career, covers of classics such as The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” and Queen’s “We Will Rock You”, as well as hisown timeless hits. He opened the concert with “Let Me Entertain You”, promising an outstanding show — a promise he more than fulfilled. It culminated in emotional performances of “Feel” and “Angels”, made even more special for Poznań audiences when the artist returned to the stage wearing a Warta Poznań shirt, the local football club. Major Lazer also performed on the BitterSweet Stage on Saturday, bringing enough energy to power more than one party, while the festival finale was the moving Bitter Chopin, Sweet Chopin project. This spectacularfinale unfolded between two stages — the PKO Bank Polski Rotunda and the BitterSweet Stage — taking audiences on a musical journey with Bass Astral, internationally acclaimed pianist Zitong Wang and musicians from the Poznań Philharmonic. The icing on the cake was a performance of “Bitter Sweet Symphony” from The Verve’s repertoire, the festival’s unofficial anthem.

That day on the Enea Stage also featured the aforementioned Oki, as well as Faithless, whose live form remains as strong as ever, the youthful energy of Giant Rooks, Morad, a voice of the Spanish urban scene, and Fukaj, a bold artist and author of some of the most beautiful love songs. Max Baby, Borderline and MYD performed on the Next Stage, showing together with the other artists on this stage that although it was the smallest, it was one of the strongest points of the entire festival in terms of both energy and sound!

The PKO Bank Polski Stage was no less interesting and equally inspiring. The day began with Martyna Wojciechowska’s conversation with Oki and a discussion between Alek Positive and Michał Sawicki about love in the age of algorithms. It concluded with a concert by the Poznań Boys’ Choir, a performance of “Rewolta” by Teatr Muzyczny w Poznaniu, and Marcin Masecki’s concert featuring “Suitami Bluesowymi”.

We are on each other’s team

BitterSweet Festival is created by music-loving professionals for music lovers — open-minded people who are curious about the world. Over the three festival days, nine conversations took place as part of BitterSweet Talks, an initiative that has been part of the festival since2025. Two of them were held in the festival’s quiet spaces, the Safe Spots, co-created with the Młode Głowy, SEXEDPL and Niepodzielni foundations. There, Maciej Musiał and Inez Lis met with Anita Bugajska from Młode Głowy to talk about the different shades of relationships. In addition, OLX Praca, a Safe Spot partner, invited Aleksandra Hromada to a conversation with Urszula Nowak about relationships with managers and colleagues, as well as Joanna Dolińska, who spoke with Martyna Wyrzykowska from SEXEDPL about how to move from “Mind full” mode to “Mindful”.

In preparation for the festival, the “Good Neighbour” initiative was launched, along with a helpline and a dedicated email address. The organisers were also in contact with local district councils so that residents could submit comments and receive answers to their concerns. During the festival, the organisers continuously monitored the situation and listened to feedback from participants. Possible solutions — such as better road signage, more toilets or opening an additional passage — were introduced as early as the second day of the festival. These efforts did not go unnoticed and were appreciated by the audience.

The rest is still unwritten. BitterSweet Festival will return in 2027!

Stay a little longer. BitterSweet Festival returns in August 2027. Next year’s edition will take place in Poznań from 12–14 August, and the first ticket batch sold out in record time. The second batch is available at www.bittersweetfestival.pl.

BitterSweet 2 is organised by Poznań concert agency Good Taste Production. Main Sponsors: PKO Bank Polski, Enea. Sponsors: Coca-Cola, Somersby. Strategic Partner: City of Poznań. Partners: Crunchips, Play, Nivea, DrWitt, Lubella, Żabka, Kubota, Nescafe, Red Bull. Automotive Partner: Mercedes-Benz Duda-Cars. Media Partners: Onet, Radio Zet, Chillizet, DROPSY, with BitterSweet Talks media patronage from Chillizet, Glamour, Elle and Magazyn Pismo. The event is held under the Honorary Patronage of the Mayor of Poznań. The BitterSweetTalks space is created in cooperation with partner foundations: Mili Ludzie, Młode Głowy, SEXEDPL, Społeczna Inicjatywa Narkopolityki, Fundacja Niepodzielni, and partner OLX Praca.