World Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26: Cultural Events
The World Indoor Athletics Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26 will be accompanied by exhibitions, meetings, theatre performances, and artistic shows. Concerts will feature Ray Wilson, Dawid Kwiatkowski, Gromee, and the rapper Fukaj. The program will also include appearances by champions of the “queen of sports” who have won medals on the world’s athletics stages.
“I hope that, alongside the sporting excitement, you will also find time to discover Toruń, Bydgoszcz, and the entire Kujawsko-Pomorskie region – a land of Gothic architecture, Vistula River panoramas, spas, lakes, and forests. It is a place where history and tradition meet modernity and the energy of contemporary life,” said Marshal Piotr Całbecki.
Concerts
On Monday (9 March) at the Pomeranian Philharmonic and Tuesday (10 March) at the Jordanki Cultural and Congress Centre in Toruń, concerts titled “We Are The Champions” took place, featuring well-known songs associated with the world’s greatest sporting events.
Songs by Queen, Tina Turner, Elton John, and Lady Pank were performed in special concert arrangements by Natalia Kukulska, Sławek Uniatowski, Ewelina Flinta, Kasia Moś, and Paweł Wolsztyński.
The concerts were hosted by sports journalist and TV presenter Paulina Chylewska.
“Queen of Sports” on Stage
The Horzyca Theatre invites audiences to a performance directed by Jędrzej Wielecki about the colours and shadows of athletics titled “Queen of Sports.”
The stage will feature characters such as:
- Irena Szewińska, a seven-time Olympic medalist
- Władysław Komar, one of Poland’s best shot-putters
- Janusz Kusociński, Olympic champion in the 10,000-metre race (1932)
The play intertwines their stories in a polyphonic narrative about pushing one’s limits and living life intensely in all its shades – including the painful ones, as described on the Horzyca Theatre website.
The premiere will take place on Saturday (14 March) on the Backstage Stage, with additional performances from Sunday (15 March) to Thursday (19 March) and, after a short break, also in April.
Opening Ceremony Concert
A special concert titled “Sprinting to the Stars” will accompany the opening of the World Indoor Athletics Championships.
On Friday (20 March) at 4:00 p.m., the stage in Toruń’s Old Town Market Square will host performances by Ray Wilson, Dawid Kwiatkowski, and Gromee.
The audience will also have the unique opportunity to meet well-known Polish athletes. On stage there will be conversations with:
- Anna Rogowska, 2009 world champion in pole vault
- Jacek Wszoła, Olympic champion in high jump (1976)
- Paweł Wojciechowski, 2011 world champion in pole vault
- Marian Woronin and Marcin Urbaś, Polish record holders in the 100 and 200 metres
The concert will be hosted by Agata Konarska, and admission will be free.
A Unique Exhibition
The opening day of the championships (20 March) will also feature a photo exhibition titled “Relays of Kujawsko-Pomorskie. 50 Days of a Shared Journey.”
Photo boards placed along Queen Jadwiga Street (from the Empik bookstore to the fan zone) will display photographs from the relay events that began 30 January, fifty days before the championships.
The relay baton, symbolically passed between 50 municipalities, covered 6,100 kilometres. The exhibition will present images from this extraordinary journey involving 5,000 participants – young athletes, students, seniors, people with disabilities, coaches, and amateur sports enthusiasts.
Champions at the Museum
On Saturday (21 March), Marshal Piotr Całbecki will receive the Athletics Heritage Award for his contribution to the development of the discipline.
The ceremony will begin at 3:00 p.m. at the Museum of World Athletics (MOWA) in Toruń Plaza Gallery. The exhibition will be enriched with additional items donated by:
- Piotr Całbecki
- Sebastian Chmara – president of the Polish Athletics Association, former decathlete, and sports commentator
- Adam Kszczot – middle-distance runner
- Paweł Wojciechowski – pole vaulter
The event will also feature appearances by:
- Nelli Cooman, Dutch sprinter
- Daniel Komen, Kenyan runner
- Noureddine Morceli, Algerian runner
The exhibition will be open to the public until Sunday (22 March). Among the exhibits are the walking shoes of four-time Olympic champion Robert Korzeniowski and the spikes of legendary sprinter Irena Szewińska.
Not Only Sporting Emotions
On Saturday (21 March) in New Town Market Square, the public will be able to watch spectacular performances by Ocelot Theatre (at 1:00 p.m.), combining acrobatics, ballet, music, and pantomime.
The stage will also host:
- meetings with athletes and athletics legends
- fan competitions
- ceremonies opening and closing the fan zone
A major musical highlight will be the concert by Fukaj (4:30 p.m.), one of the most exciting representatives of the young generation of Polish rap.
During the three days of the event, the atmosphere will also be energized by world-class DJs. In the former Evangelical Church of the Holy Trinity, visitors will be able to see the exhibition “History of Polish Athletics.”
Beata Krzemińska
Press Spokesperson of the Marshal’s Office
11 March 2026