Hello Leipzig: This is how Friday 16 October 2026 kicks off the weekend

One sees clearly only with the heart … Everyone is familiar with this beautiful piece of wisdom that the fox imparts to the Little Prince. From today, this wonderful story can be experienced through multimedia at the Kunstkraftwerk. There are two reasons to celebrate: the German-Syrian poet Adel Karasholi is turning 90, and the Jazz Days are celebrating their 50th anniversary. And because there’s always some sort of building work going on somewhere, today’s ‘Excavator of the Day’ is at Roßplatz.

Things are getting a bit congested

Things have already become tight at Augustusplatz due to ongoing track works. Now the route to this bottleneck is also turning into a narrow alley: in front of the Ringcafé (Roßplatz
), diggers are at work to renovate the drinking water pipe running towards Goldschmidtstraße. The plan is to complete the work in a single day.

For car traffic, these two measures mean a significant increase in congestion. In addition, tram services between Roßplatz and Augustusplatz
will be suspended until 8 November inclusive. Among others, lines 11, 14 and 16 will be diverted. Road users can check the latest traffic updates ONLINE HERE
before setting off.

The Little Prince lands in Leipzig

For more than 80 years, a tiny stranger from another planet has been touching the hearts of Earthlings young and old alike. A new multimedia exhibition, ‘The Little Prince on a Journey – A Tribute to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’, opens today at the Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig. The production combines the world-famous tale with 360-degree projections, interactive installations and a kinetic light installation.

Spanning around 1,600 square metres across seven rooms, the exhibition features walk-through visual worlds with starry skies, desert landscapes and the Little Prince’s planet. Characters such as the fox and the rose also form part of the exhibition. Alongside the themes of friendship, love and responsibility, the exhibition sheds light on the life of the French writer and pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, whose travel and flying experiences shaped his literary work. The book was first published in New York in 1943.

For the biographical sections of the exhibition, the Kunstkraftwerk is collaborating with DHL and the MASE – Museo Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in Alghero, Sardinia. The former heating plant in the west of Leipzig, which has been used as a centre for digital art since 2016, provides an ideal setting for the exhibition with its large industrial halls. To mark today’s opening, the Kunstkraftwerk at Saalfelder Straße 8b
will, as a one-off, open at 4 pm. The exhibition is scheduled to run until 31 January 2027. Visitors should allow around 90 to 120 minutes for their visit.

The exhibition is available in German and English. Tickets cost 18 euros on Thursdays and Fridays, with a reduced rate of 14 euros; at weekends and on public holidays, the prices are 20 and 16 euros respectively. Families pay 46 and 52 euros respectively, whilst groups pay 16 euros per person. For school groups, admission is 6 euros on Thursdays and Fridays, and 16 euros per person at weekends and on public holidays. Tickets are available ONLINE HERE
; any remaining tickets may be available at the box office. Important: Only online tickets guarantee entry!

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was born on 29 June 1900 in Lyon and, alongside his work as a writer, worked as a pilot, including for French airmail companies. His experiences as a pilot and his travels through Africa and South America shaped works such as *Night Flight* (1931) and *The Little Prince* (1943), which became one of the most famous books in world literature. On 31 July 1944, Saint-Exupéry disappeared whilst on a reconnaissance flight over the Mediterranean; the circumstances of his crash remain unclear to this day.

Adel Karasholi’s 90th birthday

Leipzig is honouring the writer Adel Karasholi this evening with a literary gala to mark his 90th birthday. The public event begins at 6 pm in the Oberlichtsaal of the City Library on the second floor at Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz. Admission is free. As well as paying tribute to the author, the focus will be on the launch of his new collection of poems, ‘Herbstsommer – Liebesgedichte aus sechs Jahrzehnten’ (Autumn Summer – Love Poems from Six Decades). Skadi Jennicke, the city’s councillor for culture, will give the welcome address, whilst literary scholar Felix Latendorf will deliver the laudatory speech.

This will be followed by a discussion between Thorsten Ahrend, director of the Literaturhaus, and publisher Lea Martin from Joanmartin Literaturverlag. Actor Jörg Uwe Schröder will recite love poems from the new collection. In “Herbstsommer”, Karasholi brings together love poetry spanning six decades, from early texts written in Damascus to German-language poems. The collection is illustrated with drawings by Regina Karachouli, the author’s wife. The gala evening is being organised jointly by the Literaturhaus Leipzig, Joanmartin Literaturverlag and the Association for the Promotion of Leipzig’s Municipal Libraries.

The writer and translator Adel Karasholi was born on 15 October 1936 in Damascus to a Kurdish family and published his first poems whilst still a teenager. After the Arab Writers’ Union, of which he had been the youngest member since 1957, was banned in 1959, he left Syria and settled in Leipzig in 1961.

Here he studied literature and theatre studies, obtained his doctorate in 1970 with a thesis on Bertolt Brecht’s theatre, and worked as a lecturer at the University of Leipzig from 1968 to 1993. Karasholi writes poems and essays in Arabic and German, translates between the two languages, and has been awarded, amongst other honours, the City of Leipzig Art Prize in 1985 and the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize in 1992.

Jazz-tastic congratulations

Half a century of jazz history, international stars and a reunion with musical pioneers: the Leipzig Jazz Days are celebrating their 50th edition. On Saturday, the Jazzclub Leipzig will open the anniversary festival with a double concert. More than two dozen performances are on the programme until 25 October.

Kicking things off at 7.30 pm at the Opernhaus (Augustusplatz
) are the ‘Globe Unity Orchestra’, founded by Alexander von Schlippenbach, and the guitar duo Charlie Hunter and Ella Feingold. The American duo blends jazz
, soul and funk and have released the album ‘Different Strokes for Different Folks’ together. Particularly noteworthy is the return of the Globe Unity Orchestra, which is itself celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. The ensemble previously appeared at the 6th Leipzig Jazz Festival back in 1981. After 45 years, the internationally renowned ensemble is now back on a local stage.

This anniversary edition thus draws a line back to the beginnings of the Leipzig Jazz Days, which were first held in 1976 and have since developed into a major hub for the jazz scene. This year’s performers also include the trombonist Conny Bauer, who performed at the very first festival in 1976. Other guests include the British jazz singer Norma Winstone and the pianist Kit Downes.

The programme brings together musicians from different generations, ranging in age from 16 to 88. Alongside the concerts, an audio walk offers the chance to trace the history of jazz in Leipzig at selected locations. It is free of charge and will be available permanently from Sunday via the Leipzig Jazz Days website
and the Leipzig Tourism app. The anniversary edition thus also commemorates the city’s significance for the development of jazz in the GDR, particularly for the East German free jazz scene.

Tickets for the opening concert and other events are available via the Jazzclub Leipzig at www.jazzclub-leipzig.de
and via the Eventim ticketing portal. The organiser also publishes information on the individual concerts and the festival programme on its website. Notably, the anniversary week is held under the patronage of the Federal President.