CirkusMania is an annual festival dedicated to circus as a contemporary performing art. The 6th edition of the festival takes place February 7-16, 2025. Over 10 days, 13 venues in the Stockholm region present new genre-crossing performances with both international and Swedish companies. Read more at cirkusmania.se
The purpose of CirkusMania
Subtopia initiated CirkusMania in 2019 and continues to coordinate the festival. In a co-arrangement between regional actors, we want to stimulate broad interest and curiosity for circus among both experienced circus-goers and new audiences. Under the theme “New Directions in Circus,” the festival presents a cross-section of contemporary circus expressions with works that have recently premiered, or in some cases are still in the creation process. They are genre-crossing mixed art pieces where experiment meets tradition, and which in various ways reflect our present time. Sometimes they surprise and challenge our ideas of what a circus performance is. The festival also functions as a platform for both Swedish and international artists, by promoting the art form’s visibility and accessibility both in the region and nationally, and by creating collaborations between artists and organizers in the region. In collaboration with Riksteatern’s CirkusExpo, we also organize industry days during the festival for a broad international industry audience.
Read more about Subtopia’s work promoting circus.
Previous festivals
In February 2019, Subtopia introduced the first edition of the festival. During its five editions, which have always taken place in February, audiences throughout the Stockholm region, from the northern suburbs to the inner city to the southern suburbs, have been broadly exposed to a variety of circus expressions and genres – on large and small stages, cultural centers, institutions, independent theaters, and schools. So far, CirkusMania has presented performances on 55 different stages in 16 municipalities around the region, for various target groups and ages.