By organising ICBS 2026, we aim to make Byzantium, its history, and its contemporary relevance accessible to a broader public. We therefore warmly invite everyone to attend the publicly accessible cultural events, some of which are free of charge and some of which require paid admission:
Concert by Baroque Arabesque
Musical Highlight of ICBS 2026
Baroque Arabesque is a musical journey between two worlds—the structured splendor of the European Baroque and the delicate ornamentation of oriental sound art. The project celebrates the beauty of cultural encounter: artful, emotional, timeless.
Registration is required. Registration closes on 31 July 2026, 23:59 CEST
Friday, 28 August 2026, 7.30 – 8.30 pm
Venue: Auditorium Maximum, University of Vienna
The event is wheelchair-accessible.
Concert ticket: 18 € (buy here)
Costumes of Authority: Dress to Impress
A presentation of Re-created Costumes based on Wall Paintings from the Cathedral of Faras in the Collections of the National Museum in Warsaw and the Sudan National Museum in Khartoum.
Royal and ecclesiastical costumes from medieval Nubia reveal how clothing signaled rank, power, and Byzantine influence. The project Costumes of Authority (University of Warsaw) investigates these visual codes and Church–State relations in Makuria. Live presentations of reconstructed costumes offer a vivid glimpse into Nubia’s language of authority.
The presentation is freely available to both conference participants and the general public.
Thursday, 27 August 2026, 7.30 – 8.30 pm
Venue: Auditorium Maximum, University of Vienna
The event is wheelchair-accessible.
Concert: Orthros by Dimitris Mousouras
A musical encounter between Byzantine chant and contemporary piano
[Small] Orthros (2025) by Dimitris Mousouras, dedicated to pianist Christos Marantos, bridges Western and Eastern traditions. Written for solo piano—a quintessential Western instrument—set in dialogue with a five-member choir, this work initiates an experimental exploration of Greek Byzantine music. By engaging directly with authentic original texts, the piece vividly highlights the global universality of Christianity.
With the generous support of the Association of the Friends of the OeAW.
The concert is freely available to both conference participants and the general public.
Tuesday, 25 August 2026, 7.30 – 8.30 pm
Venue: Department of Musicology, Hof 9 (Campus AAKH), Entrance via Garnisongasse 13
The event is wheelchair-accessible.
Film Screening of “Menandros & Thaïs” (Original Version with English Subtitles)
Followed by a Discussion with Director and Author Ondřej Cikán
A beautiful bride. A broken hero. A surreal odyssey. Thaïs is kidnapped by pirates during her wedding to Menandros. In his search for her, the bridegroom transforms into a bloodthirsty monster, his horse grows wings, a witch promises him to another woman, King Xerxes has him castrated, and yet in the end everything turns out happily. Truly happily? Further information can be found at www.menandros.cz
Registration is required.
Thursday, 27 August 2026, 8.00 – 11.00 pm
Venue: BURG KINO, Opernring 19, 1010 Vienna
The event is not wheelchair-accessible.
Registration fee: 10,50 €
Tracing Byzantium: Fragments of the Greek Middle Ages
Special Exhibition at the Papyrus Museum of the Austrian National Library
Explore this year’s special exhibition at the Papyrus Museum in the Austrian National Library, dedicated to the “fragment” in the Greek Middle Ages. We present physical fragments of written artefacts, textual fragments in novel contexts, and documents of individual life as fragments of society. Expect glances into the Byzantine everyday world beyond shimmering mosaics.
11 June 2026 to 2 May 2027
Tue–Sun 10:00 am – 6:00 pm, Thu 10:00 am – 9:00 pm; any changes will be announced at onb.ac.at
Venue: Papyrus Museum of the Austrian National Library
Heldenplatz, Neue Burg, entrance at the central gate, 1010 Vienna
The exhibition is wheelchair accessible.
Ticket: 6 € (more information here)
Concert of Byzantine Hymns with the Choir of the Metropolis of Austria
This Concert, presented within the framework of the Byzantine Congress, marks the 1600th anniversary of the Akathistos Hymn. Selected chants from ist liturgical office are performed by the Byzantine Choir of the Holy Metropolis of Austria, highlighting their liturgical and theological significance.
The concert is freely available to both conference participants and the general public.
Wednesday, 26 August 2026, 6.00 – 7.00 pm
Venue: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
The event is not wheelchair-accessible.
Interested members of the public living in Austria who are not professionally involved in the field of the congress may attend the academic programme of the congress (www.icbs2026.org/program) with a day ticket and visit the publishers’ book exhibition.
A day ticket grants access to the academic programme of the congress on one day of your choice. Voluntary donations are gratefully accepted.
A limited number of 50 day tickets is available for each congress day. Tickets will be issued on site and marked for the respective day.
The accompanying programme is not included in the day ticket. However, everyone is warmly invited to attend the public cultural events of ICBS 2026, some of which are free of charge and others ticketed (see above).