Hello Leipzig: Here’s how Friday 17 July 2026 kicks off the weekend

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A record, a first, British legends and a party as colourful as the rainbow. It’s going to be a spectacular weekend. And because you can’t have a festival without some building work: there’s digging going on in Böhlitz-Ehrenberg. The city harbour is celebrating its first harbour festival, the Academy of Graphic Arts and Book Design has never had so many graduates, Uriah Heep are taking to the Parkbühne stage – and the CSD is bathing Leipzig in a sea of colour. Let’s go!

Art record at the HGB

Today, the Academy of Visual Arts (HGB)

is graduating around 90 students and will subsequently open the largest graduation exhibition in its history. The graduation ceremony begins at 2.30 pm in the academy’s courtyard (Wächterstraße 11).

As part of the event, the 2026 German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Prize and the 2026 Rössing Prize for Photography will also be awarded. According to the academy, never before have so many graduates presented their final projects.

From 4.00 pm, the entire academy building will then open its doors to visitors. Until 10.00 pm, works from the courses in Painting and Printmaking, Photography, Book Art and Graphic Design, and Media Art will be on display in around 20 rooms. The exhibition was organised by the final-year students in collaboration with curator Ilse Lafer. The graduation exhibition will remain open until Sunday.

Start of construction in Böhlitz-Ehrenberg

Today marks the start of the second phase of construction work to make the “Wilhelm-Winkler-Straße” bus stop (line 62) accessible. With a planned construction period of around three weeks, the project is relatively short, as it is limited to the refurbishment of the bus stop and does not involve any roadworks. The works will complete a project that began back in 2025.

The bus stop on the opposite side was already made accessible last year. As part of the current construction work, a level access point is being created, along with a tactile paving system. In addition, an area is being prepared for the future installation of a passenger shelter. However, this is not part of the current construction project.

The aim of the refurbishment is to make access significantly easier for wheelchair users, people with walking frames, families with pushchairs and visually impaired passengers. During the construction period, Wilhelm-Winkler-Straße will be completely closed between Bielastraße and number 20. Properties will remain accessible to residents, whilst pedestrians will be directed via the southern pavement.

Bus route 62 will continue to run as normal. The total investment amounts to around 57,000 euros. Around 90 per cent of the costs are being covered by the Leipzig Local Transport Authority (ZVNL), meaning the city’s own contribution is around 5,700 euros.

Uriah Heep rock the park

Naturally, the band members are dressed entirely in black. After all, their pacifist anthem ‘Lady in Black’ is one of their biggest global hits. Tonight, Uriah Heep are playing an open-air concert on the park stage in Clara Zetkin Park. The British hard rock band was formed in London in 1969 and, alongside Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, is counted among the groups that defined the style of classic hard rock and early heavy metal.

They made their international breakthrough in the early 1970s with the albums “Demons and Wizards”, “The Magician’s Birthday” and “Sweet Freedom”, each of which achieved gold status in the USA. Among the band’s best-known tracks are ‘Lady in Black’, ‘Easy Livin’’, ‘July Morning’ and ‘Gypsy’, which remain staples of many rock radio stations’ playlists to this day. Uriah Heep’s sound is characterised by harmonised vocals, distinctive Hammond organ riffs and the unmistakable guitar work of Mick Box, the band’s last remaining founding member.

Uriah Heep have sold more than 40 million records worldwide and have built up an exceptionally loyal fan base, particularly in Germany, Scandinavia, Japan and Eastern Europe. In terms of music history, the band also made rock history in 1987 when they became the first Western hard rock band to perform in Moscow. In 2019, Uriah Heep were inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History to mark their 50th anniversary.

Even more than five decades after their formation, the band continues to release new music and performs regularly on international stages. The concert in Leipzig is part of their European tour and is likely to offer fans a rare opportunity to experience these rock legends live. The concert starts at 7 pm.

Visitors can take tram lines 1 or 14 to the Marschnerstraße stop and from there walk through the park to the venue in less than ten minutes. Another convenient option is to take bus route 89 to Telemannstraße, from where the Parkbühne is about a five-minute walk away. Alternatively, you can take tram lines 2, 8, 9 or 14 to the Neues Rathaus stop; from there, it’s about a 15-minute walk through Clara-Zetkin-Park to the concert venue.

All the colours of life on Leipzig’s streets

Hurry and buy some paint today, because tomorrow Leipzig will become the rainbow capital! Under the slogan “No rest, no turning back – queer rights, step by step!”, the organisers of Christopher Street Day are expecting tens of thousands of visitors. Leipzig’s CSD is one of Saxony’s largest political demonstrations and is explicitly a political demonstration calling for protection against anti-queer violence, equality for LGBTIQ* people, the strengthening of democratic values and social diversity, and greater visibility for queer life.

The event kicks off at 11.30 am with a rally on Augustusplatz. This will be followed by a march through Leipzig’s inner city and the Ostvorstadt district from 1 pm until around 4 pm. The exact route may be updated at short notice if necessary. From around 4.00 pm until around 8.00 pm, a street festival will take place on Augustusplatz, featuring a stage programme, political speeches, information stands run by associations, initiatives, advice centres, universities and civil society organisations, as well as food and drink stalls.

The organiser points out that times may vary slightly depending on how the march progresses. There is no age restriction for this public event. Costs are incurred only for individual expenses such as food and drink. Free drinking water will be available at eight points along the route.

Due to the march, traffic disruption is expected between approximately 1 pm and 4 pm. Road closures and restrictions on tram and bus services are to be expected along the route; motorists should also allow for delays. It is recommended that you travel by public transport or by bike. Augustusplatz remains the main access point, but access may be restricted at times.

Due to the size of the event, an increased presence of police and security personnel is expected. According to the organisers, more than 21,000 people took part in the CSD 2024. This year’s rally will be streamed from 11.30 am on the official Leipzig CSD YouTube channel.

A spectacular event at the 1st Stadthafenfest

With a two-day programme this weekend, the recently opened Leipzig City Harbour is celebrating its very first harbour festival. This inaugural event is intended to establish it permanently as a leisure, cultural and event venue in the city. Visitors are welcome on Saturday from 11 am to 10 pm and on Sunday from 11 am to 11 pm. Entry is free on both days.

To kick things off on Saturday, guests can look forward to a street food market featuring international specialities from 11 am to 10 pm. Running alongside this until 6 pm is a family programme, which includes, amongst other things, the Leipzig Stadtwerke information van; from 12 noon, the Clinic Clowns will also be out and about (and, of course, promoting their voluntary work). From 12 noon to 2 pm, Arne Hinz will be providing live music, before a dragon boat tug-of-war takes place on the water between 4 pm and 7.45 pm.

In the evening, at 8 pm, the film *The Penguin of My Life* will be shown in the specially erected open-air cinema. Immediately afterwards, “Flying Gordon” will put on a flyboard show from 9.50 pm to 10 pm, before the first day of the festival draws to a close at around 10 pm with a communal finale and floating candles in aid of Elternhilfe für krebskranke Kinder Leipzig e. V. On Sunday, the programme (available online HERE
) will include, amongst other things, a public screening of the Football World Cup final on a big screen.