The Verbier Festival, one of the world’s premier classical music events, will expand beyond Switzerland for the first time, launching a winter edition in Shenzhen, China, in January 2026. The ten-day festival, which takes place from 30 January to 8 February 2026, will present more than 25 concerts and events, featuring artists including Martha Argerich, Lang Lang, Joshua Bell, Mischa Maisky and Janine Jansen.
Shenzhen was selected after careful evaluation of multiple cities, reflecting Asia’s rapid growth as a hub for classical music and the region’s robust arts education systems. The festival will partner with the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports, the Longgang District People’s Government, Shenzhen Concert Hall and Wu Promotion.
To mark the festival’s first venture outside Switzerland, the Verbier Festival in Shenzhen will follow a “Summer in Verbier, Winter in Shenzhen” model. The initiative coincides with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Switzerland in 2025 and aims to enhance Shenzhen’s reputation as a global arts hub.
The inaugural festival will feature the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra as Orchestra-in-Residence under Music Director Gábor Takács-Nagy and will perform six concerts. Programmes will include masterclasses, one-to-one mentoring and educational activities for emerging artists from Asia and beyond, while public workshops and community events will further enrich Shenzhen’s cultural landscape.
Performances will take place at the new Shenzhen Longgang International Arts Centre, scheduled to open in late 2025, and at the Shenzhen Concert Hall. The Longgang venue will feature state-of- the-art systems and innovative spatial design, providing a world-class platform for festival performances.
