BitterSweet Festival is a three-day international music event held in August in the green heart of Park Cytadela in Poznań, Poland.

Park Cytadela
Poznań : POLAND

It is a festival of contemporary popular music, the return of timeless acts, and artists who are now beginning to define the future of the music scene.

13-15.08
2026

A strong pillar of BitterSweet Festival is its community.

It is made up of passionate and engaged people of all ages – people who listen and want to be heard. Since its beginning, BitterSweet has been shaping its own definition of festival culture. At its core lies the belief that a festival can unite rather than divide, listen rather than drown out voices, and create a community where respect for others, safety, and mutual care are not simply additions to the programme, but its very own foundation.

BitterSweet
2025

50 concerts
3 days
70k participants
4 stages
The inaugural edition demonstrated a scale and ambition rarely seen in Poznań in recent years. The festival attracted 70,000 attendees, with as many as 68% coming from outside the region. Across four stages, audiences enjoyed nearly 50 live performances, more than 70 DJ sets in partner zones, and six BitterSweet Talks sessions.

From the moment visitors entered the festival grounds, they were welcomed by the MPK Orchestra. Four distinctive stages awaited them – from the monumental Main Stage and the dance-focused Enea Stage to the intimate atmosphere of the Eventim Stage and the emergingtalent showcased on the NEXT FEST Stage.

Over three unforgettable days at Park Cytadela, a story unfolded that immediately earned BitterSweet Festival the reputation of “the best new event in Poland.”

BitterSweet
moments

  • Bartosz Sąder Onet Kultura

    This unique location on the city map allowed the organizers to build a truly magical town.

    It must be admitted that the place was truly impressive. And the further the sun sank below the horizon, the more impressive it became. Most importantly, the millennial’s high school dream had come true—they could once again experience the teenage emotions he had longed for.

  • Maksymilian Kluziewicz Eska

    The event, taking place in Poznań’s Cytadela Park, is impressive in its pace.

    Within minutes of arriving, I was already at the festival grounds—vast, packed with attractions, and superbly organized, resembling a fairytale town. As the sun set, the atmosphere grew even more magical. It’s safe to say that BitterSweet Festival has become Poland’s leading music festival.

  • Tomasz Cylka Gazeta Wyborcza

    Poznań has been waiting for such a music festival for a very long time.

    The demand for such an event in the capital of Greater Poland was enormous. Thousands of spectators showed up at the Citadel. There were young and old, families with small children and seniors. Everyone had a wonderful time in a great atmosphere.

  • Oliwia Kopcik Interia Muzyka

    BitterSweet was probably my most anticipated festival this season.

    It’s new, the lineup is massive, the venue is fantastic… Everything was perfect for this event to be amazing. (…) After the first day, Bittersweet sold me 100%, and this one… the rest is still unwritten.

  • Maja Kozłowska Vibez

    The new best festival in Poland?

    BitterSweet went far beyond the confines of a music festival and offered attendees a very specific lifestyle for the conscious consumer of culture, as stretchy as chewed Turbo gum. Low, high, elegant, campy, performative. The scope was wide, and the organizers delivered. BitterSweet is interesting, fresh, and fashionable, although it started from the difficult position of an event chasing the peloton. And what? It caught up.

  • Bartosz Sąder Onet Kultura

    This unique location on the city map allowed the organizers to build a truly magical town.

    It must be admitted that the place was truly impressive. And the further the sun sank below the horizon, the more impressive it became. Most importantly, the millennial’s high school dream had come true—they could once again experience the teenage emotions he had longed for.

  • Maksymilian Kluziewicz Eska

    The event, taking place in Poznań’s Cytadela Park, is impressive in its pace.

    Within minutes of arriving, I was already at the festival grounds—vast, packed with attractions, and superbly organized, resembling a fairytale town. As the sun set, the atmosphere grew even more magical. It’s safe to say that BitterSweet Festival has become Poland’s leading music festival.

  • Tomasz Cylka Gazeta Wyborcza

    Poznań has been waiting for such a music festival for a very long time.

    The demand for such an event in the capital of Greater Poland was enormous. Thousands of spectators showed up at the Citadel. There were young and old, families with small children and seniors. Everyone had a wonderful time in a great atmosphere.

  • Oliwia Kopcik Interia Muzyka

    BitterSweet was probably my most anticipated festival this season.

    It’s new, the lineup is massive, the venue is fantastic… Everything was perfect for this event to be amazing. (…) After the first day, Bittersweet sold me 100%, and this one… the rest is still unwritten.

  • Maja Kozłowska Vibez

    The new best festival in Poland?

    BitterSweet went far beyond the confines of a music festival and offered attendees a very specific lifestyle for the conscious consumer of culture, as stretchy as chewed Turbo gum. Low, high, elegant, campy, performative. The scope was wide, and the organizers delivered. BitterSweet is interesting, fresh, and fashionable, although it started from the difficult position of an event chasing the peloton. And what? It caught up.

  • Bartosz Sąder Onet Kultura

    This unique location on the city map allowed the organizers to build a truly magical town.

    It must be admitted that the place was truly impressive. And the further the sun sank below the horizon, the more impressive it became. Most importantly, the millennial’s high school dream had come true—they could once again experience the teenage emotions he had longed for.

  • Maksymilian Kluziewicz Eska

    The event, taking place in Poznań’s Cytadela Park, is impressive in its pace.

    Within minutes of arriving, I was already at the festival grounds—vast, packed with attractions, and superbly organized, resembling a fairytale town. As the sun set, the atmosphere grew even more magical. It’s safe to say that BitterSweet Festival has become Poland’s leading music festival.

  • Tomasz Cylka Gazeta Wyborcza

    Poznań has been waiting for such a music festival for a very long time.

    The demand for such an event in the capital of Greater Poland was enormous. Thousands of spectators showed up at the Citadel. There were young and old, families with small children and seniors. Everyone had a wonderful time in a great atmosphere.

  • Oliwia Kopcik Interia Muzyka

    BitterSweet was probably my most anticipated festival this season.

    It’s new, the lineup is massive, the venue is fantastic… Everything was perfect for this event to be amazing. (…) After the first day, Bittersweet sold me 100%, and this one… the rest is still unwritten.

  • Maja Kozłowska Vibez

    The new best festival in Poland?

    BitterSweet went far beyond the confines of a music festival and offered attendees a very specific lifestyle for the conscious consumer of culture, as stretchy as chewed Turbo gum. Low, high, elegant, campy, performative. The scope was wide, and the organizers delivered. BitterSweet is interesting, fresh, and fashionable, although it started from the difficult position of an event chasing the peloton. And what? It caught up.

  • Bartosz Sąder Onet Kultura

    This unique location on the city map allowed the organizers to build a truly magical town.

    It must be admitted that the place was truly impressive. And the further the sun sank below the horizon, the more impressive it became. Most importantly, the millennial’s high school dream had come true—they could once again experience the teenage emotions he had longed for.

  • Maksymilian Kluziewicz Eska

    The event, taking place in Poznań’s Cytadela Park, is impressive in its pace.

    Within minutes of arriving, I was already at the festival grounds—vast, packed with attractions, and superbly organized, resembling a fairytale town. As the sun set, the atmosphere grew even more magical. It’s safe to say that BitterSweet Festival has become Poland’s leading music festival.

  • Tomasz Cylka Gazeta Wyborcza

    Poznań has been waiting for such a music festival for a very long time.

    The demand for such an event in the capital of Greater Poland was enormous. Thousands of spectators showed up at the Citadel. There were young and old, families with small children and seniors. Everyone had a wonderful time in a great atmosphere.

  • Oliwia Kopcik Interia Muzyka

    BitterSweet was probably my most anticipated festival this season.

    It’s new, the lineup is massive, the venue is fantastic… Everything was perfect for this event to be amazing. (…) After the first day, Bittersweet sold me 100%, and this one… the rest is still unwritten.

  • Maja Kozłowska Vibez

    The new best festival in Poland?

    BitterSweet went far beyond the confines of a music festival and offered attendees a very specific lifestyle for the conscious consumer of culture, as stretchy as chewed Turbo gum. Low, high, elegant, campy, performative. The scope was wide, and the organizers delivered. BitterSweet is interesting, fresh, and fashionable, although it started from the difficult position of an event chasing the peloton. And what? It caught up.

Postcards
from 2025