The 32nd edition of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival starts today

The 32nd edition of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival (FITS) begins on Friday, bringing together over 5,000 artists from 82 countries, who will present a total of 841 events, according to a press release from the organisers.The events will take place over ten days, transforming the county capital into a spectacular open-air stage, featuring large-scale productions, impressive installations, parades, fire shows, live music, aerial dances and street art performances.Piata Mare (the Main Square) will host remarkable shows, including the performance 'Ymir's Dream,' featuring a 12-metre-tall stylised human figure and a 60-metre metal spiral suspended from a 200-tonne crane, as part of the show by Transe Express from France.In Piata Mica (the Small Square), spectators can interact with recycled-material installations by the Catalan company Tombs Creatius, enjoy circus shows and experience a Spanish immersive installation shaped like a glass globe. The Balcescu pedestrian street will be enlivened with musical parades, African stilt dancers, batucada, samba and the 'Fuga Lolelor,' presented for the first time during the summer to a large public.Diverse shows, from flamenco to acrobatics and contemporary circus, will also take place in Habermann Square and Sub Arini Park. Piata Teatrului (Theatre Square) will host two multimedia shows with drones and lights, officially opening and closing the festival.'The Sibiu public is becoming more and more demanding, which both delights and challenges us. Through consistent efforts and our membership in the Circostrada network, we manage to bring to FITS some of the most spectacular street theatre companies and artistic installations,' said Dan Bartha-Lazar, coordinator of FITS street events.Alongside international names such as Bill Murray, Kathleen Turner, Kuranosuke Sasaki and Alexandru Tomescu, FITS 2025 will feature a strong presence of Romanian artists, including Teatrul pe Roti, Circ Discret, Timisoara Circus School, PulsaR troupe, Cozmesti Brass Band, the Elijah Association, as well as hundreds of students from Sibiu.'Outdoor performances are the audience's first point of contact with FITS. That is where the discovery of the Festival and the miracle of art begins. We have built this mechanism over 32 years and continue to perfect it each year,' said FITS President Constantin Chiriac.The full programme and customisable schedules are available via the FITS app, which can be downloaded for free from Google Play and the App Store. Real-time updates are provided on the Festival's social media channels and in the FITS newsletter.This year's theme is 'THANK YOU' - a tribute to generosity, joy and the emotional connection between the public and the artists.