Prague switches on Designblok 2026 for six days of Light
Prague has switched on six days of design. Designblok 2026, the annual festival in Prague, runs from 6 to 11 October for its 28th edition, according to programme details published by Dezeen. The professional programme started on 6 October. The public programme runs from 7 to 11 October.
This year's theme is Light. The festival uses it to explore knowledge, truth, hope and life.
More than 300 designers, studios and brands from the Czech Republic and abroad are taking part. They are spread across four venues throughout the city. The festival team describes the event as the largest design showcase in Central Europe, prepared each year by hundreds of creative people.
Talking is a big part of the week. Designblok Talks, co-curated with design magazine Dezeen in London, runs from 6 to 7 October. It features more than 45 international speakers. The discussions are grouped under three headings: Future of Design, Future of Architecture and Future of Living.
The talks take place at the Industrial Palace at the Prague Exhibition Grounds. They are moderated by Dezeen co-CEO Benedict Hobson and editorial director for special projects Max Fraser. The conference sessions are aimed at professionals and the public interested in where design, buildings and home life go next.
The principal guest of honour is Dutch designer Marcel Wanders. He is also the laureate, the winner, of the Designblok Award for Outstanding Contribution to Global Design in 2026.
The awards will be handed out on 8 October. The ceremony takes place in the Central Hall of the Industrial Palace at Výstaviště Praha in Prague, according to Dezeen. It is the first major event to open the historic hall to the public after a four-year reconstruction. That gives visitors a first look inside a building that has been closed for works.
Lighting history gets its own slot. The festival presents Retro Lamps: Forgotten Stories of Czechoslovak Design at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague. The exhibition looks back at lighting design from the former Czechoslovakia.
Other venues bring the festival into different corners of the city. The programme brings to life the Trade Fair Palace of the National Gallery Prague. Czech design also appears at the Prague City Museum, Prague Castle and Bastion Florenc. The festival lists 6 October as Professionals' Day, a trade-only start before the public days.
What makes this stand out is the range in one ticket. Visitors can move from a debate about future housing to a close look at a decades-old lamp in one afternoon. Old halls and new ideas sit side by side.
