The Jazz in the Park Competition aims to identify, promote, and support emerging jazz artists with strong potential for festival appearances and live performances. Three days (June 5-7, 2026) of live jazz in the heart of Transylvania. Central Park, Cluj-Napoca (Romania) is the historic home of Jazz in the Park — a green oasis in the center of one of Europe’s most vibrant cultural cities. Entry is completely free for the public. Deadline to apply is May 3rd, 2026.
ABOUT THE COMPETITION
Organizers: Fapte Muzicale SRL & Fapte Association
Competition: International Jazz in the Park Competition
Purpose:
The Jazz in the Park Competition aims to identify, promote, and support emerging jazz artists with strong potential for festival appearances and live performances.
Artistic Scope
The Jazz in the Park Competition is open to all bands performing within the broad genre of JAZZ (please refer here to the full list of accepted subgenres within the competition).
Competition Context
The competition takes place as part of an open-air festival. Public access to the event is free of charge, and in addition to the competition performances, the venue also hosts a variety of complementary activities, including concerts by artists who are not part of the competition.
Our aim is to create an environment that is as authentic as possible — a setting that reflects the atmosphere of a real festival.
The competition stage will be one of the stages within the event and will host a minimum of four performances per day. Concerts by special guest artists, closing each festival day, will take place on a separate stage.
Although each performance will be evaluated by a jury composed of industry professionals, participating bands are expected to approach their performance as they would at any festival — placing emphasis on artistic expression and audience engagement, rather than addressing the jury directly.
Timeline
- Application period: March 19 – May 3, 2026
- Preselection results announcement: May 21, 2026
- Live competition performances (in front of the jury): September 18–20, 2026
- Award ceremony: September 20, 2026
Regulations
Participants in the competition are required to comply with the terms and conditions set forth in these Competition Regulations (hereinafter referred to as the “Regulations”).
The Regulations are available, free of charge, to any interested party on the competition webpage (www.jazzinthepark.ro/competition). Additional information may be requested at competition@jazzinthepark.ro.
The Organizer reserves the right to amend these Regulations, provided that any such changes are announced at least one (1) working day prior to their entry into force.
APPLY
Eligible Participants
The Jazz in the Park Competition is open to all bands performing within the broadly defined genre of JAZZ (please refer here to the full list of accepted subgenres within the competition).
A “band” is defined as an artistic group consisting of at least two instrumentalists, regardless of the instruments they perform.
Members of the registered bands must be between 16 and 35 years of age at the time of the Jazz in the Park Competition (September 18, 2026). By exception, one member of the band may be over the age of 35.
Registration Process
Registration is carried out via the website www.jazzinthepark.ro/competition and remains open until May 3, 2026.
CONTACT
For further information or clarifications, please contact: competition@jazzinthepark.ro