The Virada Cultural 2026 takes place on May 23 and 24 with more than 1,200 free performances on 21 stages and over 200 cultural venues across São Paulo. Organized by the city government, the event aims to spread programming to peripheral areas and reduce crowds in the center. Attendance is expected to reach 4.8 million people.
At the main stage in Vale do Anhangabaú, performers include Marina Sena, Seu Jorge, Péricles, Luísa Sonza and Manu Chao. Avenida São João hosts brega shows with Joelma, Gaby Amarantos, Johnny Hooker and Sidney Magal. In Bom Retiro, the k-pop group 1Verse joins the lineup.
Masp remains open for 24 hours from 6 p.m. Saturday until the same time Sunday. Theatro Municipal and Biblioteca Mário de Andrade also operate without interruption. The edition costs about R$ 40 million, below the more than R$ 50 million spent last year.
Metro and CPTM run overnight, with reinforced bus fleets. The event is projected to create over 20,000 direct and indirect jobs and generate more than R$ 500 million in local economic activity.
