Between 17 and 22 July 2021, Ljubljana hosted the international choir festival Europa Cantat 2021, which took take place in a hybrid form due to the COVID-19 pandemic – with online and live events. The educational core of the festival took place entirely on the Europa Cantat online feed, on top of that, we were be able to listen to live concerts by international stars and top domestic choirs at Kongresni trg, Novi trg, the Slovenian Philharmonic and Cankarjev dom.

On the occasion of its second Presidency of the Council of the European Union, works by its most renowned artists will represent Slovenia. Slovenia hosts a retrospective exhibition of the internationally recognised costume designer Alan Hranitelj in cooperation with the renowned set designer Marko Japelj, who arranged an installation offering a glimpse into the artist’s wardrobe at the premises of the Council of the EU. The creations, which cross over from costume design to different worlds of art and combine seemingly incompatible motives, reflect the imaginary world of an artist committed to eternal beauty.

The curator of the exhibition, the Slovenian Marko Košan, has prepared a selection of works by thirteen Slovenian artists who, in the midst of the present-day flood of visual images from mass media, are looking for new forms of painterly, sculptural and photographic expression, aimed at exploring new utopias of an (uncertain) future. The exhibition was opened by the Slovenian Minister of Culture, Vasko Simoniti, and the Chair of the European Parliament's Artistic Committee, Karol Karski. The exhibition, which was created in cooperation with the The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Koroška as part of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, will be on display in the European Parliamet and also on the website of the Ministry of Culture until the end of this year.

The premiere of the Waterman ballet on 1 July 2021 marked the start of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The ballet staged on Bled Island by Slovenian National Theatre Maribor, choreographed by internationally renowned choreographer Edward Clug and with original music by slovenian composer Milko Lazar was attended by representatives of the Slovenian Government and members of the College of Commissioners.

The virtual exhibition "Pioneers of Slovenian Modern Architecture – Fabiani, Plečnik and Vurnik – Forms for a New Democracy" is on display on social channels and on the website of the Ministry of Culture. The exhibition is complemented daily by one of the works from the rich architectural heritage of the great three Slovenian architects. It was prepared in cooperation with photographer Stane Jeršič and art historian Bojana Čampa. The exhibition is organised under the Slovenian EU Council Presidency.