VERBIER FESTIVAL SHENZHEN 2026 CONCLUDES ITS INAUGURAL EDITION, LAUNCHING A THREE-YEAR COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY OF SHENZHEN
February 9, 2026 (Shenzhen, China) — The Verbier Festival has concluded the inaugural edition of Verbier Festival Shenzhen 2026, held from January 30 to February 8, 2026, marking the first time the Verbier Festival has been presented outside Europe and a significant step in its long-term international development.
Planning for this expansion began three years ago through dialogue between Martin T:son Engstroem, Founder and Co-CEO of the Verbier Festival, and Jiatong Wu, Founder of Wu Promotion, with the ambition of establishing a lasting presence for the Festival in Asia.
Unfolding over ten days across Shenzhen’s leading cultural venues, the Festival presented 24 concerts, seven public masterclasses and a professional roundtable, welcoming audiences to symphonic programmes, chamber music, solo recitals and educational activities, and reaching a total live audience of more than 23,000 spectators.
Long regarded as a laboratory for the future of classical music, the Festival has helped redefine how artists, audiences and institutions engage with the art form in a global, digital age. Through its early engagement with digital platforms and sustained international touring activity, notably through the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, the Festival has cultivated a global audience well beyond Switzerland.
“This first edition in Shenzhen has shown how strongly the Verbier Festival’s values of artistic excellence, education and collaboration resonate here,” said Martin T:son Engstroem, Founder and Co-CEO of the Verbier Festival. “Shenzhen is a city defined by innovation and openness, where technological leadership, global connectivity and cultural ambition increasingly intersect, and that spirit aligns naturally with the way the Verbier Festival approaches classical music— as a living art form shaped by exchange, curiosity and new encounters. We are delighted to build on this momentum through a longer-term collaboration with the city.”
At the heart of the Festival, the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Gábor Takács-Nagy, performed a series of symphonic programmes. Across the Festival, audiences also heard internationally celebrated artists including Yuja Wang, Lang Lang, Mikhaïl Pletnev, Janine Jansen, Joshua Bell, Mischa Maisky, Gautier Capuçon and Bryn Terfel, alongside a wide range of chamber music and solo performances. Alongside these performances, public masterclasses formed an integral part of the programme, welcoming students, young professionals and music lovers, and offering direct insight into artistic practice.
The Festival programme also included a professional roundtable, Developing Young Musicians: Global Perspectives, bringing together Verbier Festival leadership and representatives from leading Chinese cultural institutions to exchange views on artist development and long-term international collaboration.
Presented in close collaboration with Shenzhen Concert Hall and the Longgang International Arts Center, with Wu Promotion as Presenting Partner, the Shenzhen edition supported the introduction and long-term development of the Verbier Festival in China. The programme marked the inauguration of the Arts Center’s new state-of-the-art concert hall, located in Shenzhen’s Longgang district.
“From a China perspective, this collaboration demonstrates the potential for sustained engagement between international cultural institutions and Chinese cities,” said Jiatong Wu, Founder of Wu Promotion. “Shenzhen’s role as a major innovation and connectivity hub makes it a strong platform for projects of this scale, with audiences drawn not only from the city itself but from across the Asia-Pacific region.”
Audience engagement extended well beyond the city itself. Preliminary data indicates that approximately 30% of audiences were based in Shenzhen, while around 70% travelled from outside the city, including major Chinese cities and the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, as well as visitors from across Asia beyond China’s borders — a strong result for a first edition.
The Festival also achieved significant digital and media visibility. An integrated cross-platform communication strategy across Chinese and international channels generated an estimated 17 million impressions in the media, as well as numerous interviews with participating artists and Festival representatives. Notably, the Xiaohongshu (RedNote) social media platform represented 2 million views.
The concentration of performances across Shenzhen’s major venues also generated a tangible cultural and tourism impact for the city, contributing to increased demand for accommodation, dining and cultural travel during the Festival period and underlining the role of high-level cultural events as drivers of wider urban activity.
“The Verbier Festival Shenzhen reflects our city’s commitment to fostering a vibrant and open cultural ecosystem,” said Simon Ding, Deputy Director, Shenzhen Bureau of Culture, Sports and Tourism. “By welcoming international artists and strengthening collaboration with cultural institutions, this initiative contributes to Shenzhen’s role as an international cultural city.”
The inaugural Verbier Festival Shenzhen edition launches a three-year initial collaboration with the city of Shenzhen, reflecting a shared commitment to artistic excellence, education and sustained international cultural exchange, and laying the foundation for future editions and continued dialogue. The next edition of the Verbier Festival Shenzhen will take place from February 9 to 18, 2027.
ABOUT THE VERIBER FESTIVAL
Founded in Switzerland in 1994, the Verbier Festival is one of the world’s leading classical music festivals, bringing together top international artists and emerging talent through performances, professional training and artistic exchange.
FACTS AND FIGURES
- Dates: 30 January – 8 February 2026
- Duration: 10 days
- Concerts: 24 — Shenzhen Concert Hall: 18; Longgang International Arts Center: 6
- Public masterclasses: 7
- Roundtable: Developing Young Musicians: Global Perspectives
- Total audience: approx. 25,000
- Audience origin: approx. 30% Shenzhen / approx. 70% outside Shenzhen (China and Asia-Pacific)
- Estimated media and digital exposure (China and international): ~17 million impressions
- Venues: Shenzhen Concert Hall, Longgang International Arts Center
CONTACT
Alessandra Cossu
Press & Protocol Manager
+41 (0)78 948 22 13
alessandra.cossu@verbierfestival.com
PHOTOS
©️ Tess Culture Media (Shenzhen)
Official photos