At a former coal mine in Wałbrzych, fire will leave its industrial past behind for a weekend and become the language of contemporary performance.
Fire has always meant something different depending on the landscape around it. At Stara Kopalnia in Wałbrzych, it once belonged to the industrial world that shaped the city's identity. At the end of August, it will become something altogether different: a medium for artists, performers and jugglers gathered for the tenth Lower Silesian Fire Festival.
Taking place on 29 and 30 August 2026, the anniversary edition brings fire shows, juggling, outdoor performance and workshops to the former mine complex. The setting is significant. Stara Kopalnia preserves the physical remains of Wałbrzych's mining heritage, while the festival uses that post-industrial environment as a stage for contemporary artistic expression.
That contrast gives the event more depth than a spectacular evening of performances. For a weekend, a place associated with the energy and labour of mining becomes a space where artists explore movement, light, rhythm and controlled flame.
A former mine becomes a stage
The festival's tenth edition is built around both performance and participation. Artists from across Poland are invited to compete in solo and group fire shows, with a professional jury assessing the performances. There is also a public element, with the Golden Spark Audience Award allowing spectators to play a direct role in recognising their favourite act.
The anniversary programme begins on Saturday, 29 August, with open workshops, audience activities and the exhibition “10 Years on Fire”. These daytime activities provide a different entry point into a festival that can otherwise appear to be centred entirely on the spectacle of the evening.
The National Fire Show Competition begins at 20:15. Later in the evening, artist Neithan is scheduled to premiere the song Guardians of the Fire, followed by an Open Stage.
For the performers themselves, however, the festival extends beyond the public programme. The organisers are accepting up to 30 participants for the anniversary edition, with selected competitors offered accommodation, meals, performance fuel and access to professional workshops. The programme therefore functions not only as a competition but also as a meeting point for people working within Poland's fire and circus arts community.
The competition is open to performers regardless of age, with awards for the winning group and solo performances, as well as material prizes for second and third place.
Ten years of turning flame into performance
The anniversary gives the festival an opportunity to look back as well as forward. The exhibition 10 Years on Fire places that history within the event itself, while the combination of established performers, workshops and an Open Stage reflects the broader culture surrounding fire arts.
Fire performance occupies an unusual space between circus, movement and visual art. The flame is both the tool and the visual focus, requiring performers to combine choreography and physical control with an awareness of their surroundings. That makes the industrial setting of Stara Kopalnia particularly effective.
Wałbrzych has spent decades negotiating its relationship with its mining past. The transformation of former industrial sites into cultural spaces has become part of that wider story, and Stara Kopalnia is one of its most recognisable examples. The complex now accommodates exhibitions, cultural events and educational activities within the preserved mining landscape.
The Fire Festival adds another layer to that transformation. Rather than hiding the site's industrial character, it uses the architecture and atmosphere of the former mine to frame an art form built around one of the elements most closely associated with industry.
There is something fitting in that change of meaning. The same landscape that once depended on fire, heat and industrial energy can now host artists who work with flame through movement and imagination.
On the festival's tenth anniversary, Stara Kopalnia will therefore offer two very different ways of looking at fire. One belongs to Wałbrzych's industrial past; the other belongs to a contemporary artistic community still discovering what the element can do.
For a weekend, the former mine becomes neither simply a monument to what came before nor just a venue for entertainment. It becomes a place where the city's industrial memory provides the setting for something new, and where fire itself is transformed from a force of work into a form of art.
Visitor Information
Event: 10th Lower Silesian Fire Festival 2026, anniversary edition
Venue: Stara Kopalnia, Wałbrzych
Dates: Saturday and Sunday, 29–30 August 2026
Saturday, 29 August: Public programme
18:00: Open workshops, audience activities and 10 Years on Fire exhibition
20:15: National Fire Show Competition
22:30: Premiere of Guardians of the Fire by Neithan, followed by Open Stage
Sunday, 30 August: Professional circus and juggling workshops for festival participants. This part of the programme is not open to the general public.
Admission: The Saturday public programme is free.
