For three days, BolognaFiere became a vibrant crossroads for contemporary music: instruments, concerts, education, cultural industries, luthiery, debates, networking and thousands of people brought together by one shared focus – music. The 2026 edition of Eufonica, organized in collaboration with MEI – Meeting delle Etichette Indipendenti, alongside Guitar Show, closed with remarkably strong numbers: 15,452 attendees, more than 450 exhibitors, over 500 events and an increasingly international audience, with visitors, artists and professionals arriving in Bologna from across Italy and 28 different countries.
Concerts, showcases, panels, workshops, masterclasses and professional meetings animated the exhibition halls throughout the weekend, creating an ongoing dialogue between musicians, students, schools, educators and industry professionals. The growth of both events further confirms their increasingly central role within the Italian and European music landscape.
The international expansion of Guitar Show was especially evident this year. For the first time extended across three full days and five stages, the event hosted nearly 200 activities including clinics, demos, concerts and masterclasses. Considerable attention was devoted to high-end international craftsmanship and boutique luthiery through the EGB Luthier Collection, while artists such as Kiko Loureiro, Donato Begotti, Luca Colombo, Federico Malaman, Cesareo and Andrea Braido helped transform Bologna into one of Europe’s leading meeting points for contemporary guitar culture. The “Guitar Saturday Night” concert-event drew particularly strong attendance, alongside the citywide activities of Guitar Week organized together with Eufonica and the G.B. Martini Conservatory.
Eufonica, meanwhile, placed a strong emphasis on the relationship between music, education and younger generations, involving students, teachers, universities and cultural operators in a wide-ranging program of activities. Among the most attended events were the sessions organized by INDIRE on ensemble music as a transformative practice, alongside meetings curated by SIEM and the University of Bologna’s Department of Arts. Discussions focused on themes such as inclusion, music therapy, cultural welfare, creator economy and emerging digital languages.
Another major highlight was the debut of the Drum Show, the new area entirely dedicated to drums and percussion, featuring the “Dom Famularo Day” and performances by internationally renowned artists such as Thomas Lang, Vera Figueiredo and Riccardo Merlini.
Institutional participation was also significant. The President of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Michele de Pascale, and Bologna’s Councillor for Culture Daniele Del Pozzo attended discussions dedicated to fair compensation on streaming platforms and proposals for a national law supporting clubs and live music venues, alongside Member of the European Parliament Nicola Zingaretti and MP Matteo Orfini.
The independent music scene was strongly represented as well, with organizations including AudioCoop, Doc Servizi, Promoter Emilia-Romagna, Rete dei Festival and Itsright, alongside labels such as Irma Records, Azzurra Music, Fonoprint and Vinilificio. Festivals including Ferrara Buskers Festival, Voci per la Libertà, Meeting Music Contest and Zecchino d’Oro also took part, together with artists such as Alberto Fortis, Maurizio Solieri, Roberta Giallo and Enrico Capuano.
“The 2026 edition demonstrated how strong the need is today for spaces where music can simultaneously be experienced as culture, education, profession, innovation and participation,” stated Barbara Laurini, Luca Friso and Giordano Sangiorgi, respectively representing Eufonica, Guitar Show and MEI. “The growth of the audience and the quality of the relationships built over these three days confirm Bologna and the Emilia-Romagna region as one of the national and international reference points for contemporary music and the entire music industry ecosystem.”
The organizers have already announced the dates for the next edition: Eufonica and Guitar Show will return to Bologna from May 14 to 16, 2027, while the next edition of MEI will take place in Faenza from October 1 to 4, 2026.
