Maribor honoured for its excellence in community engagement

Maribor triumphed at the Conventa Best Event Award 2025 with Ballet Under the Stars and Maribor City Day, showcasing the city’s creativity, community spirit, and cultural excellence.

At the 10th jubilee edition of the international Conventa Crossover festival in Ljubljana, two Maribor events won awards in their respective categories. In collaboration with the Municipality of Maribor and the Slovenian National Theatre Maribor, the Maribor Tourist Board entered two outstanding projects into the competition – Maribor City Day 2024 and Ballet Under the Stars 2024.

At the award ceremony at Ljubljana Castle, Ballet Under the Stars 2024 received the award in the category Best in Community Building & Engagement, while Maribor City Day 2024 was recognised as Best Non-Profit Event.

Aleksander Saša Arsenovič, Mayor of the Municipality of Maribor, welcomed the recognition: “I am immensely proud that we received two awards for events that bring Maribor and its people together. Ballet Under the Stars is not just a ballet performance but an event that unites and involves many stakeholders, showing that the whole city can become a stage.

I am especially proud of the award for Maribor City Day, which in just a few years has grown into one of the city’s most important annual moments — a celebration of the place we love, strengthening our sense of community and belonging,” added Arsenovič.

Jure Struc, Director of the Maribor Tourist Board, commented: “These awards prove that through joint efforts we can create projects that impress even the most demanding international audiences.

Ballet Under the Stars and Maribor City Day have become powerful ambassadors of Maribor, combining art, history, tourism, and the energy of the citizens. Such achievements confirm that Maribor can stand alongside Europe’s leading cities in the field of events and cultural tourism.”

The Conventa Best Event Award is one of Europe’s most prestigious competitions in the field of event organisation. This year’s final at Ljubljana Castle featured a record-breaking 55 projects from 16 countries. The international jury recognised the most creative, effective, and inspiring projects shaping the future of the European events industry.

Visit the Maribor Tourist Board at visitmaribor.si.