Sport Fest Poreč: BMX, Hybrid Race and sports stars in October

In mid-October, BMX riders, Hybrid Race athletes and Croatian sports names share the Žatika sports hall in Poreč. Sport Fest Poreč runs for three days with a conference, a sports fair and a sports arena open to everyone. AB Sport Consulting from Zagreb organises it, and Alan Balen founded the project. The festival began with an edition in Zagreb and moved to Poreč in 2018. The 2026 edition was the tenth.

Families visit the free sports arena, the shows and the children's day. Recreational athletes race in the Hybrid Race and test their fitness in the Health Lab. Coaches, club staff and athletes attend the conference and the JUMP awards. The organisers describe Sport Fest as a regional event for sport, health and business.

Sport Fest Poreč 2027

As of October 2026, the organisers have published no date for 2027. The official site still shows the 2026 programme. The last five editions all ran over three days in mid-October:

• 2022: 14 to 16 October, Friday to Sunday, according to the organisers.
• 2023: 13 to 15 October, Friday to Sunday, according to IstraIN.
• 2024: 18 to 20 October, Friday to Sunday, according to the Poreč Tourist Board.
• 2025: 16 to 18 October, Thursday to Saturday, according to the Poreč Tourist Board.
• 2026: 15 to 17 October, Thursday to Saturday, according to the organisers and the Istria Tourist Board.

The 2027 date still needs official confirmation. In 2027 Poreč holds the title European City of Sport, awarded in April 2026 by ACES Europe. The Inclusion Games at the 2026 festival marked the launch of that project, according to the Istria Tourist Board.

From Zagreb to the Žatika hall

Sport Fest started in Zagreb. The first Poreč edition followed in 2018, and in 2019 the third edition returned to Žatika, HrTurizam reported. By 2022 the organisers counted the sixth edition and the fifth year in a row in Poreč. In 2020 they moved the festival to the Diamant hall at the Valamar Diamant hotel, near Žatika, to meet epidemic measures. Glas Istre called the 2026 festival the tenth, a jubilee edition.

Before the 2020 edition, Balen said the 2019 festival drew more than 5,000 visitors, about thirty speakers and over 70 exhibitors, IstraIN reported. Water polo coach Ratko Rudić spoke in 2020, gymnast Tin Srbić and rower Martin Sinković in 2021, shooter Giovanni Cernogoraz and handball coach Goran Perkovac in 2023. The festival also presents the JUMP awards for people and organisations that promote sport. In 2020 the City of Poreč won the City of Sport category.

What is on: conference, arena and fair

The programme changes each year, and it rests on the same parts. In 2026 they looked like this:

• Conference: one day of talks and interviews in the small Žatika hall, run with the Croatian Olympic Committee. Seats are booked on the Core-event platform.
• Sports arena: competitions and shows in the big Žatika hall. The 2026 list included freestyle juggling, arm wrestling, SmartDarts darts, boxing training, a BMX show and the Dunking Devils dunk team.
• Hybrid Race: running legs alternate with workstations for strength, endurance and explosive power. A short sprint on Friday led into the main race on Saturday.
• Fair: sports brands show and sell equipment, and a try-then-buy zone lets visitors use machines and weights under supervision.
• Health Lab: movement screening (FMS), PNOE metabolic tests and Visbody 3D body composition scans.
• Family programme: a children's day on Friday morning, the Inclusion Games, a magic show and an exhibition of the Croatian Sports Museum.

Earlier editions had a wider mix of sports. In 2023 the programme listed the Run Fest race over 5 and 10 km, 3x3 basketball, freestyle football, bodybuilding, CrossFit and flying disc, IstraIN reported. In 2021 the Run Fest course started at Žatika and ran down to the sea and along the coast, according to the Poreč Tourist Board.

Recent editions added a comedy evening in the hall. In 2022 the programme listed Kakva ti je žena, takav ti je život by the Luda kuća theatre for the Saturday. In 2024 visitors saw Ko je tu lud, directed by Branko Đurić, free of charge on the Friday. In 2026 Kerekeš Teatar was billed with Beba on the Friday, with free entry.

Tickets and opening hours

Entry to the sports arena in the big Žatika hall is free, according to the organisers. Conference seats are booked on Core-event, and Hybrid Race athletes register through the official site. Hours change from year to year. The official 2026 hours: accreditation and a party on Thursday from 20:00 to 22:00 at Hotel Sunny by Valamar, the conference and the arena on Friday from 10:00 to 18:00, and the arena on Saturday from 09:00 to 18:00.

In 2025 the conference ran on Thursday from 14:00 and on Friday from 11:00, and the arena stayed open on Saturday from 09:00 to 21:00, the Poreč Tourist Board listed. The organisers arrange lower rates for festival guests at Valamar's Brulo Sport Resort in Poreč, booked through AB Sport.

Getting to Žatika

The Žatika sports hall is in Poreč, postcode 52440. The bus station is at Karla Huguesa 2, with local, intercity and international lines from Arriva, Fils and Flixbus, among others. Pula airport is about 50 km away, according to the Poreč Tourist Board. On the rail line from Zagreb via Rijeka, the nearest station is Pazin, about 30 km from Poreč. By car from Zagreb the route runs via Rijeka, the Učka tunnel, Pazin and the Baderna junction.

Drivers can use the Large City Car Park near the farmers' market, with 750 spaces, or the Vrtovi car park opposite, with 400 spaces. The town fills with athletes in festival week. In 2024 Sport Fest and the Plava Laguna IRONMAN 70.3 Poreč ran in the same week. In 2026 the triathlon followed on Sunday 18 October, the day after the festival.

Poreč around the festival

Between sessions, the old town is the obvious walk. The Roman streets, the Decumanus and the towers are in the Poreč guide. The Euphrasian Basilica from the 6th century is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Autumn festivals with fixed 2027 dates are listed in Croatia 2027: festival dates.

Sport Fest Poreč 2026 in review

The tenth Sport Fest ran from 15 to 17 October 2026 in the Žatika hall. The Friday conference brought together Slaven Bilić, Dejan Lovren, Roko Leni Ukić and Josip Varvodić, president of the Croatian Olympic Committee, Parentium reported. TV presenters Željko Vela and Drago Ćosić hosted. Lovren spoke under the title Biti hrvatski reprezentativac (Playing for Croatia). Bilić took part in a talk called Novi hrvatski izbornik (The new Croatia coach). Ukić spoke about the revival of Croatian basketball.

Athletes Marino Bloudek and Nina Vuković spoke about their season. Hajduk academy psychologist Ante Ivišić discussed support for young athletes. Paola Borović and Larissa Marković talked about life after a sports career. Hill-climb driver Matija Jurišić, European champion in Buzet in September, and conditioning coach Pero Kuterovac also spoke. Danira Bilić presented the Croatian Sports Museum, and Damir Škarić his book Evolucija sporta.

The JUMP awards went to the Croatian Water Polo Federation, collected by Marko Erak, and to the City of Šibenik as City of Sport. The City of Zagreb won for investment in sports infrastructure, and the Croatian Football Federation for promoting Croatia through football.

On Friday the arena programme listed a children's day, the Inclusion Games, a Hybrid Race sprint and a BMX show by the Trotula crew from Osijek. The evening slot went to Kerekeš Teatar and the comedy Beba with Mirna Medaković Stepinac and Ljubomir Kerekeš. Saturday was billed as the big festival day: the main Hybrid Race from 10:00 to 15:00, arm wrestling, SmartDarts, boxing with BK Gladijator, a chess simul by grandmaster Alojzije Janković and the Dunking Devils.