Published: 11 July 2025
Urban Highline Festival 2025
With less than two weeks to go until this year’s edition of Carnaval Sztukmistrzów (24–27 July, Lublin), the city is once again preparing to welcome the Urban Highline Festival—an extraordinary event that brings world-class slackliners to the skies above Lublin’s Old Town and city centre.
About
The Urban Highline Festival is the oldest highline festival in Europe and one of the world’s largest official urban highlining events. It has been held in Lublin since 2009. While the public looks up to see lines stretched overhead and the slackliners gracefully walking across them, the festival means much more to the international highline community. It is an annual celebration of passion, knowledge-sharing, and lived experience in the world of slacklining.
Over the years, Lublin has welcomed participants from across the globe—from the USA, Argentina, and Australia to Taiwan, Israel, and Morocco. In total, slackliners from 56 countries across six continents have taken part in UHF. Remarkably, around 60% of them come from abroad—often discovering Poland and Europe for the very first time. For many, the festival becomes a gateway to exploring Lublin and the wider region
But it’s not just about walking the line. UHF also offers workshops (including yoga, acroyoga, and handstands), a chance to connect as a community, and an opportunity to explore Lublin from an entirely new perspective. The festival generates hundreds of thousands of photos, videos, songs, and social media stories every year.
The event is produced with a strong focus on safety by a professional rigging and climbing crew, upholding Lublin’s reputation for high standards. For the first time in the festival’s history, the organising team is led by women—three experienced highliners: Urszula Danielska, Weronika Lesz, and Patrycja Góra. They’re bringing fresh perspective, energy and vision to the event.
As they say, “Urban Highline Festival is more than a sporting event—it’s a community, a passion, and the magic of a city that, for a few days, becomes the global capital of courage and balance. Ot all begins in Lublin — and we’re proud to share that spirit with the world.”
Participant registration is open at: www.urbanhighline.pl
What’s in the Urban Highline Festival Programme?
A festival favorite returns: the Open Slackline Workshops
Błonia near the Castle
Thursday–Sunday, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Beginners of all ages will have the chance to learn the basics of slacklining and try tricks just above ground level. Organizers will provide lines of varying heights and difficulty, making this thrilling sport safe and accessible to everyone.
Another highlight will be the Saturday Speedline Competition
Błonia near the Castle, 7:00–8:00 PM
Saturday’s speedline competition promises to be a thrilling spectacle, as the boldest slackliners race to cross the line stretched between two points as quickly as possible. It’s a true test of speed and skill — all under pressure.
The grand finale will feature a performance by the Slack Sensation team titled “On the Edge” — a unique blend of slacklining, theatre, and live music. A slackliner, balancing high above the ground, responds to the cellist’s live performance with movement and emotion, creating an improvised dialogue between sound and body. This captivating show is sure to leave a lasting impression.
Quick Facts for Urban Highline Fans
Slackline ≠ tightrope – it’s a 2.5–5 cm wide webbing, typically made of nylon or polyester.
- Slacklining has its roots in nomadic cultures. The practice of walking on a tensioned line has been known among certain tribes in Central Asia and the Middle East. For these communities, slacklining was not only a form of entertainment but also an integral part of tradition and ceremonial life.
- Some take on extreme challenges and attempt to set world records. The Polish highline distance record stands at 1.5 km—an impressive feat, given the balance and strength required to maintain composure over such a vast distance
- Trickline is a dynamic discipline within slacklining, where daring athletes perform a variety of tricks, acrobatics, and jumps on a tensioned line. It emphasizes creativity, expression, and the spectacular nature of movement—blending elements of acrobatics and freestyle with the core skill of walking the line.
- Freestyle highline is a fusion of two slacklining disciplines—tricklining and highlining. It’s an advanced form of the sport, where athletes perform a variety of tricks, acrobatics, and movement sequences on a high-tension line suspended at great height.
- Highline itself is an extreme sport that involves walking on a slackline stretched high above the ground—typically between cliffs or, as in Lublin’s case, between buildings.
- Lublin is the birthplace of Urban Highline—a form of highlining adapted to cities and urban environments.
- For 16 years, the Urban Highline Festival has soared above the city—adding a daring highline act to Poland’s largest contemporary circus event.
Details
Carnaval Sztukmistrzów
24–27.07 2025
Lublin, Old Town and Błonia near the Castle
Admission free, selected events are ticketed.
Published: 11 July 2025
Urban Highline Festival 2025
With less than two weeks to go until this year’s edition of Carnaval Sztukmistrzów (24–27 July, Lublin), the city is once again preparing to welcome the Urban Highline Festival—an extraordinary event that brings world-class slackliners to the skies above Lublin’s Old Town and city centre.
About
The Urban Highline Festival is the oldest highline festival in Europe and one of the world’s largest official urban highlining events. It has been held in Lublin since 2009. While the public looks up to see lines stretched overhead and the slackliners gracefully walking across them, the festival means much more to the international highline community. It is an annual celebration of passion, knowledge-sharing, and lived experience in the world of slacklining.
Over the years, Lublin has welcomed participants from across the globe—from the USA, Argentina, and Australia to Taiwan, Israel, and Morocco. In total, slackliners from 56 countries across six continents have taken part in UHF. Remarkably, around 60% of them come from abroad—often discovering Poland and Europe for the very first time. For many, the festival becomes a gateway to exploring Lublin and the wider region
But it’s not just about walking the line. UHF also offers workshops (including yoga, acroyoga, and handstands), a chance to connect as a community, and an opportunity to explore Lublin from an entirely new perspective. The festival generates hundreds of thousands of photos, videos, songs, and social media stories every year.
The event is produced with a strong focus on safety by a professional rigging and climbing crew, upholding Lublin’s reputation for high standards. For the first time in the festival’s history, the organising team is led by women—three experienced highliners: Urszula Danielska, Weronika Lesz, and Patrycja Góra. They’re bringing fresh perspective, energy and vision to the event.
As they say, “Urban Highline Festival is more than a sporting event—it’s a community, a passion, and the magic of a city that, for a few days, becomes the global capital of courage and balance. Ot all begins in Lublin — and we’re proud to share that spirit with the world.”
Participant registration is open at: www.urbanhighline.pl
What’s in the Urban Highline Festival Programme?
A festival favorite returns: the Open Slackline Workshops
Błonia near the Castle
Thursday–Sunday, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Beginners of all ages will have the chance to learn the basics of slacklining and try tricks just above ground level. Organizers will provide lines of varying heights and difficulty, making this thrilling sport safe and accessible to everyone.
Another highlight will be the Saturday Speedline Competition
Błonia near the Castle, 7:00–8:00 PM
Saturday’s speedline competition promises to be a thrilling spectacle, as the boldest slackliners race to cross the line stretched between two points as quickly as possible. It’s a true test of speed and skill — all under pressure.
The grand finale will feature a performance by the Slack Sensation team titled “On the Edge” — a unique blend of slacklining, theatre, and live music. A slackliner, balancing high above the ground, responds to the cellist’s live performance with movement and emotion, creating an improvised dialogue between sound and body. This captivating show is sure to leave a lasting impression.
Quick Facts for Urban Highline Fans
Slackline ≠ tightrope – it’s a 2.5–5 cm wide webbing, typically made of nylon or polyester.
- Slacklining has its roots in nomadic cultures. The practice of walking on a tensioned line has been known among certain tribes in Central Asia and the Middle East. For these communities, slacklining was not only a form of entertainment but also an integral part of tradition and ceremonial life.
- Some take on extreme challenges and attempt to set world records. The Polish highline distance record stands at 1.5 km—an impressive feat, given the balance and strength required to maintain composure over such a vast distance
- Trickline is a dynamic discipline within slacklining, where daring athletes perform a variety of tricks, acrobatics, and jumps on a tensioned line. It emphasizes creativity, expression, and the spectacular nature of movement—blending elements of acrobatics and freestyle with the core skill of walking the line.
- Freestyle highline is a fusion of two slacklining disciplines—tricklining and highlining. It’s an advanced form of the sport, where athletes perform a variety of tricks, acrobatics, and movement sequences on a high-tension line suspended at great height.
- Highline itself is an extreme sport that involves walking on a slackline stretched high above the ground—typically between cliffs or, as in Lublin’s case, between buildings.
- Lublin is the birthplace of Urban Highline—a form of highlining adapted to cities and urban environments.
- For 16 years, the Urban Highline Festival has soared above the city—adding a daring highline act to Poland’s largest contemporary circus event.
Details
Carnaval Sztukmistrzów
24–27.07 2025
Lublin, Old Town and Błonia near the Castle
Admission free, selected events are ticketed.
