Badung Opens Festival Seni dan Budaya XV After Two-Year Pause

Mangupura — Badung opened its Festival Seni dan Budaya XV at the Balai Budaya Giri Nata Mandala in the Badung government centre on Nov. 4, 2026. The festival is scheduled to run through Nov. 16, 2026, after a two-year pause in holding a major event dedicated to developing and preserving local arts and culture.

The 13-day programme includes traditional performances and competitions. Listed events include the Telek Bebadungan dance competition, children’s, adult and women’s gong kebyar parades, and a Bapang Barong competition.

Why Badung’s festival matters to visitors

For visitors and foreign residents in Bali, the festival offers a concentrated public programme of Balinese performance traditions in Badung, rather than a single staged attraction. The schedule brings dance, gong kebyar and barong-related activities together at a civic cultural venue in Mangupura.

The event is organised by the Badung Regency Government through its Culture Office. Its return follows two years without a major festival intended to explore and preserve regional arts and culture. The programme is presented through performances, competitions, parades and exhibitions, giving local artists and groups several formats in which to appear.

The opening was marked by a symbolic kayonan-pinning ceremony involving Badung Regent I Wayan Adi Arnawa, Deputy Regent Bagus Alit Sucipta and members of the Badung regional leadership forum. The festival’s stated theme is “Sani Buddhayah Taya Ning Rat,” described by the organiser as referring to art and culture as a light for the heart and the world.

The festival is due to continue until Nov. 16, 2026. The reports do not state a separate closing event or any additional arrangements for international visitors.

Sources

• NusaBali — Bali news outlet
• Bali Post — Bali news outlet
• bali.tribunnews.com
• baliexpress.jawapos.com