Antwerp · This weekend
Things to do in Antwerp this weekend
According to Shou, there are 18 events in Antwerp this weekend, 17 October – 18 October.
Antwerp glows tonight across twelve vibrant events featuring six musical performances and two theatrical productions. Experience the energetic GLORY 110 alongside the Dag van Verzet tegen Armoede and My New Band Believe. Celebrate Bart Herman honoring fifty years of music, Opera 2026 Macbeth, and the Cello Octet for an unforgettable evening.
⭐Don't miss
MusicPink MartiniNow in its 31st year, the unstoppable engine of joy that is Pink Martini continues to bring founder Thomas Lauderdale’s mission of multi-cultural connection and inclusion to concert stages on six continents. Presenting a mélange of catchy old-fashioned pop, global color, foot-tapping big band sound, and Hollywood glamour, Oregon’s most famous “little orchestra” performs music intended to appeal to everyone, regardless of age or background. Performing with a number of iconic voices including the band’s first lead singer China Forbes, the inimitable Storm Large, NPR’s dashing Ari Shapiro, the soulful Edna Vazquez, America’s Got Talent finalist Jimmie Herrod, and international singing sensation Meow Meow, the “little orchestra” has played on legendary concert stages around the world, including the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, Royal Albert Hall in London, and Bercy Arena in Paris.Pink Martini has released over a dozen albums on its in-house label Heinz Records, including the new EP Bella ciao, featuring the anti-fascist title song sung by Storm Large. “This is rich, hugely approachable music, utterly cosmopolitan yet utterly unpretentious. And it seems to speak to just about everybody … from grade-schoolers to grandmothers to the young and hip and beautiful.” – The Washington PostSunday · 18 October · 20:00 – 21:30De Roma · Antwerp 
FestivalDag van Verzet tegen ArmoedeOn the International Day of Resistance against Poverty, STA-AN, SAAMO, Curieus vzw, Tutti Fratelli and Spreken is Goud by De Roma invite you to join people living in poverty in seeing the world in a completely different light – through their eyes.Through music, words and dance, we’ll make the voices of those who are least heard ring out louder than ever.During the support programme, we’ll be bringing De Roma to life with puppet theatre, hands-on activities and (free) soup for anyone who’d like some. The Kloofdichters will also be joining us.Tutti Fratelli will open the programme on the main stage. Through their singing and performance – which touch the heart like no other – they give voice to the pain of poverty.Spoken word artist Farida Zaouad will lead the way in the struggle – which we want to wage together with you. Her poetry cuts right to the heart of the matter. Gillian and Zohran, in turn, will find their way into your heart with music drawn from their own reality.Isis’s voice draws us to the strength of people living in poverty, whilst Rubens fills your head with his upbeat rap. Tarmacadam round off the main stage with their powerful drums.Afterwards, we invite you to a warm and spirited concert in the Foyer. Roufaida creates pop music that gets under your skin. She draws inspiration from Arabic poetry and her North African roots, translating them into what troubles the world and what unites us.DJ Yakub Dysney gets the party in full swing with his beats and grooves.Host of the evening is none other than Soe Nsuki, author, screenwriter, TV producer and stand-up comedian. For Soe, who has also experienced the injustice of poverty first-hand, vulnerability and humour go hand in hand.We invite you to take a different look at poverty.Saturday · 17 October · 18:00 – 22:15De Roma · Antwerp 
MusicMy New Band BelieveBlack Midi co-frontman Cameron Picton has a new band!Saturday · 17 October · 19:30 – 22:30Trix Antwerpen · Antwerp 
MusicBREZZA, CuadraturaBREZZA unpacks with quartets by Jean-Baptiste Quentin le Jeune: a nearly forgotten composer who made a splash in Paris between 1718 and 1750. Quentin played violin in the Académie Royale de Musique and wrote an impressive oeuvre: 36 violin sonatas, 80 trios, and 7 quartets. With the latter, he joined the very first French composers who ventured into the then-emerging genre. His quartets combine Italian elegance with German architecture and French refinement, but disappeared from view for centuries – until now. BREZZA puts historical instruments in position and bases itself on Baroque treatises to interpret the music as faithfully as possible. This ensemble is a prize-winner that harvested laurels in competitions in Barcelona, Gijón, and Utrecht, and during the International Young Artist Presentation (IYAP) of Laus Polyphoniae 2022: one more reason to come and experience Quentin's comeback from the front row!Sunday · 18 October · 15:00 – 16:15AMUZ · Antwerp 
MusicBart Herman - 50 years of musicWith a first performance in hall De Pluim in Kalken in 1976, the then 17-year-old Bart Herman began his musical journey. On Saturday, October 17, 2026, the now-lauded singer-songwriter celebrates his ’50 years of music’ with a unique anniversary concert in the beautiful Koningin Elisabethzaal in Antwerp. Bart, who conquered a spot in the collective Flemish music memory with his indestructible classic ‘Ik ga dood aan jou’, takes the audience on a musical voyage of discovery full of personal stories, sublime compositions, his best-known hits, hidden gems, and songs that gave his career direction. Together with his extensive live band, Bart Herman ensures an evening full of recognition, nostalgia, and class. All this brought with the charm, humor, and craftsmanship that have characterized the word artist for half a century. Tickets for ‘Bart Herman – 50 years of music’ are available from October 30, 2025, at 9 AM via www.ticketkopen.eu Since his first performance in 1976, Bart Herman has built an impressive and versatile repertoire. He finally broke through to the general public in 1993 with his iconic hit ‘Ik ga dood aan jou’. Other well-known songs like ‘Slaap mijn kind’, ‘Ogen van lood’, ‘Gele Rozen’, ‘Bartje (is een leuke naam)’, and ‘Als je weer wakker wordt’ made him a fixture in Dutch-language music. Maar Bart Herman is much more than just an interpreter of his own work. Behind the scenes, he also proved himself as a gifted lyricist and composer for numerous other Flemish artists. For example, he wrote songs for, among others, Will Tura, Willy Sommers, Bart Kaëll, Luc Steeno, Jo Vally, Dana Winner, Lisa Del Bo, Barbara Dex, Sergio, Liliane St-Pierre, Nicole and Hugo, etc. He also translated or adapted numerous foreign hits from English, German, Spanish, Italian, and French into Dutch at the request of colleagues. His stamp on the Flemish music world is therefore unmistakable both in front of and behind the microphone. During the festive anniversary concert ’50 years of music’, Bart Herman and his extensive live band take the audience on a musical voyage of discovery through the life of Bart: full of personal stories, catchy melodies, and surprising turns. A unique opportunity to experience the soundtrack of multiple generations live in one of the most beautiful concert halls in the country.Saturday · 17 October · 20:00 – 22:00Koningin Elisabethzaal · Antwerp🎵Live music
MusicCello OctetWe have colonised the future - today we are mining what belongs to future generations. How can we be good ancestors? And how can we make the future more tangible now?
Inspired by works such as The Good Ancestor by Roman Krznaric, The Long Now, and the philosophy of Black Quantum Futurism (Moor Mother / Rasheedah Phillips), Cello Octet invites composers and vocalists to create new works around this theme.
Following their successful collaboration with light artist Nick Verstand in 2024, Cello Octet returns to DE SINGEL with a concert for live cellos and recorded voices - unseen but resonating nearby. Voices from past, present, and future engage in dialogue, forming a mosaic of time layers - a collective exercise in listening to other generations.Saturday · 17 October · 20:00 – 21:15DE SINGEL Internationale Kunstcampus · Antwerp 
MusicQasim NaqviFor Shifting Sounds, Qasim Naqvi premieres a new ambient work for modular synthesiser. He is also joined by members of Cello Octet for a new collaboration for synthesiser and cellos, in which layered electronics and richly resonant acoustic sounds coalesce in a captivating live performance.
The Pakistani-American musician Qasim Naqvi is perhaps best known as a co-founder of the acoustic trio Dawn of Midi, with whom he has played drums since 2008. Alongside his work with Dawn of Midi, he has evolved into a versatile solo artist, with projects ranging from electronic music to compositions for orchestra, chamber ensembles, dance, and film. In recent years, he has increasingly focused on analogue and modular synthesiser systems and orchestral configurations.Saturday · 17 October · 21:30 – 23:55DE SINGEL Internationale Kunstcampus · Antwerp 
MusicKIDconcert: Piece Stroganoff (6+) - Julie Røssland, Joris Van den Brande, Günther Lesage,Muziek van Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Mussorgsky for children? Of course! Tea with a shot of vodka, matryoshkas and babushkas, Siberian winters packed with snow, tough nutcrackers, beet soup with sour cream, steppes as far as the eye can see, crime and punishment: Stuk Stroganoff is a swirling performance that parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles also feast on. Put on your fur hat, nestle in your seat, and enjoy the fascinating story that the ace actors of LAZARUS bring to life. Het Antwerp Symphony Orchestra plays the colorful Russian music under the direction of conductor Julie Røssland.Sunday · 18 October · 11:00 – 14:00Koningin Elisabethzaal · Antwerp 
MusicGuitar RecitalMichel Verkempinck invites you to a special concert in Hof De Bist. He guides you along a musical journey through time, with various guitars each revealing their own timbre and character. From refined compositions to surprising arrangements, every note is given room to breathe here.
Let yourself be carried away by a rich and varied repertoire that touches and surprises. An intimate concert that perfectly suits a quiet Sunday morning. Come listen, discover, and enjoy.Sunday · 18 October · 11:00 – 00:00Kasteel Hof De Bist · Antwerp 
MusicAnaïs (try-out)Tijdens Concert in the Living Room the café chairs turn towards the stage! Former residents and current DIY residents of Rataplan test new work there or perform an intimate, acoustic set. Anaïs Vijgen is a Belgian jazz singer, composer and songwriter with a distinct voice of her own. Her debut album Équi (2024) was picked up by Klara and Radio 2, and in 2025 she was selected as Klara Twintiger. Following her DIY residency at Rataplan last summer, Anaïs is playing a try-out of her new project Strings Attached in the living room.
Strings Attached
Heb you sometimes also get the feeling that we live in a puppet show? Anaïs feels that way. People move like little dolls, attached to threads of expectations and obligations. Guided and limited by mapped-out paths, we are slowly losing our urge for eccentricity. But why?
In her lyrics, Anaïs goes in search of those threads, only to resolutely cut them in improvisations. The core of her music lies in the conversation between voice and saxophone of Adia Vanheerentals, think of Laïla Martial and Matana Roberts, with a touch of Kate Bush.
New songs are brought live for the first time in this try-out together with double bassist Yannick Peeters. Be there and let yourself be carried away into her idiosyncratic world.
This concert is in collaboration with Borgersound with the support of District Borgerhout.Sunday · 18 October · 15:00 – 16:00Rataplan · Antwerp 
MusicPussy RiotPussy Riot - the Russian feminist protest collective - has been performing RIOT DAYS, a show at the intersection of live music, theatre, and multimedia - since 2017.
The performance is based on the book Riot Days by Maria 'Masha' Alyokhina, which recounts the collective’s protest actions, trials, and prison sentences. RIOT DAYS continues to evolve, incorporating current reflections on political persecution and events such as Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The show has been performed over 400 times worldwide - in nearly all European countries, as well as in North and South America, Australia, and New Zealand. Since the start of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 150 performances of the latest version have been staged. Through RIOT DAYS and accompanying exhibitions, Pussy Riot has raised over €200,000 for the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv and support for political prisoners in Russia.
This year, they return with an impressive new show and a new book: Political Girl, which addresses topics such as the death of Alexei Navalny and LGBTQ+ protests.
RIOT DAYS is more than simply a performance: it is an ongoing artistic act of resistance against oppression and war.Sunday · 18 October · 20:00 – 23:55DE SINGEL Internationale Kunstcampus · Antwerp🎭Arts & culture
TheatreMichael Van PeelAnd you? Have you already downloaded the app? Scanned the QR code? Created an account? Are you updated, actually? Are you on board?
In the cesspool of bullshit, the shit is up to our lips. Reality is overtaking satire at a rapid pace. It is sink or go under. Fortunately, Van Peel dissects the spirit of the times as always. With laughing and getting up.
‘Farce Majeure’ is about power and overwhelming force. About the bunglers that we all are. Because don't let anyone fool you. Everyone else is also just doing something.Saturday · 17 October · 20:15 – 21:45Schouwburg Noord · Antwerp 
TheatreLouisaland: Strange Bird (2,5+)Louisaland is a festival for the whole family. The castle is furnished for the little ones and their families. Upon arrival, a game course is set up to let children experiment with play and sound. A fun craft workshop is always provided in the garden room and on the first floor there is a playroom with traditional wooden games.\n\nIn the theater hall: Vreemde Vogel (Ellen Smets Theater)\nTeun and Tijn set out on an adventure together with their little car Broemmm, into the wide world. Without a plan, on the way to the great unknown. Strange plants, strange bugs, strange sounds and scents… Where are they now? Are they in the jungle or in fantasy land?\n\nTime to pitch the tent. What are all those sounds? And what kind of strange bird is that? Is it sick, looking for something, what does it want? The strange bird keeps following Teun and Tijn and Broemmm. Oh dear, it's laying an egg! No, crazy bird, not on the hood of Broemmm! We are traveling! Teun and Tijn want to move on, but what about that strange bird and the egg?\n\nVreemde Vogel is a sweet, physical performance with live music, puppet theater and lots of humor. Vreemde Vogel is about friendship and adventure, discovering new things, because strange is not scary but actually very fun and exciting.\n\n14:00 Playtime: Before the performance there are craft workshops, a game course and a playroom with traditional games. Children can burn off all their energy before the theater performance.\n\n15:00 Theater performance: At 3 PM the child-friendly theater performance starts.\n\n16:00 Playtime: After the performance, children can play and let loose for another hour.Sunday · 18 October · 14:00 – 17:00Gravenhof · Antwerp🎬Cinema
CinemaOpera 2026: MacbethLet yourself be carried away in Verdi's dark and compelling adaptation of Shakespeare's famous tragedy. Driven by ambition and power, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth plunge into a spiral of murder, paranoia, and guilt. With intense music, impressive choirs, and dramatic highlights, Macbeth belongs to Verdi's most haunting operas. After previous triumphs in Verdi's great baritone roles, Quinn Kelsey de Schotse portrays King Macbeth, haunted by the ghosts of his bloody march to the throne. Opposite him stands Lise Davidsen as the ruthless Lady Macbeth, whose boundless ambition brings them both to ruin.Saturday · 17 October · 18:30 – 21:59Kinepolis Antwerpen · Antwerp 
CinemaCast: Club v Sinterklaas: Panic in the PietendorpIn the newest Club van Sinterklaas film we take a look at the Pietendorp in Spain. There, the Piets are busy getting everything ready for the annual big trip to Belgium when suddenly panic breaks out… Because where have the bags of presents gone? And the drawings? And the staff of Sinterklaas?Sunday · 18 October · 10:30 – 11:45Kinepolis Antwerpen · Antwerp✨More
MiscCoward1917. Pierre arrives as a new soldier at the front, driven to prove himself in battle. Behind the lines he meets Francis, who tries to keep the morale of the troops high with improvised shows. While the war rages on relentlessly, they both try to escape reality, if only for a moment.Sunday · 18 October · 11:00Cinema Cartoon's · AntwerpFrequently asked questions
How many events are in Antwerp this weekend?
According to Shou, there are 18 events in Antwerp this weekend (17 October – 18 October).
What’s happening in Antwerp this weekend?
Browse the full list of Antwerp events above — updated daily by Shou.
Is this list updated daily?
Yes — Shou refreshes Antwerp events every day from official sources across Belgium.