(ZENIT News / Rome, 05.07.2025).- Rome is preparing for an explosion of music, rhythm, and color as it welcomes over 13,000 performers from across the globe for the Jubilee of Bands and Popular Entertainment, set to take place May 10–11, 2025. More than just a cultural festival, the event blends pilgrimage and performance in a rare Vatican-approved celebration of popular artistry in Conclave period.
The jubilee, which forms part of the larger Holy Year celebrations, casts a spotlight on a uniquely set of participants: military marching bands, folk groups, school ensembles, university performers, amateur orchestras, and representatives of street entertainment from nearly 100 nations. While Italy naturally makes up the largest contingent, the global dimension is impossible to miss — with ensembles traveling from countries as diverse as the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, France, Australia, and Argentina.
Festivities will begin on Saturday morning, May 10, with thousands of musicians embarking on an organized pilgrimage through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica — a ritual rich in spiritual symbolism for Jubilee pilgrims. But by mid-afternoon, the city will be transformed into a sprawling open-air stage. From 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., more than 100 musical groups will perform in 31 public squares across Rome, turning the historical city center into a symphony of brass, percussion, wind, and traditional sounds. Locals and visitors alike will be treated to an unparalleled sonic mosaic, with free access and no reservation required. A full schedule of performances — including times, locations, and band profiles — is available through the official Jubilee 2025 website and its dedicated mobile app, Iubilaeum25.
On Sunday, the event shifts from scattered celebration to unified prayer. Piazza Cavour will host a solemn outdoor Mass at 10:00 a.m., led by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who oversees the Vatican’s Jubilee planning. Doors open at 8:00 a.m., and in keeping with the Jubilee’s spirit of openness, no ticket is required for entry.
But the weekend’s defining moment may well come after the Mass, when bands and performers — still in uniform and instruments in hand — process solemnly through the streets of Rome toward St. Peter’s Square. In this vibrant, living pilgrimage, each group will perform music of their choosing, creating a spontaneous, multicultural soundtrack for the journey of faith.
This fusion of tradition and spontaneity reflects the spirit of Jubilee 2025 — a celebration not just of doctrine or ritual, but of the joyful, grassroots expressions of faith found in every corner of the world.
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