In which big cities in Romania are organized Easter events. “Even in a difficult time, it is essential that we continue to invest in the image of the city”
The differences in approach between the big cities in Romania become evident in the organization of Easter events, from substantial investments to the total absence of dedicated budgets. Timișoara makes a discordant note, while Craiova reduced the budget considerably.
How local governments choose to budget for Easter markets stirs up controversy year after year. On the one hand, tax payers would like the city to offer the possibility of spending free time in a pleasant way, on the other hand, the costs of organizing events are viewed with a critical eye.
In the midst of cuts from city hall budgets, only a few municipalities ventured into organizing Easter events and fairs: Craiova, Oradea, Timișoara, Suceava, Sibiu or Sector 3 of the Capital. Big cities, such as Cluj or Iași, have not announced a dedicated budget for the Easter period.
The truth spoke with several mayors in the country to see the motivation behind the decisions to invest in the organization of such a fair or activities. Timișoara and Sibiu, both European cultural capitals, have an extensive holiday program, the costs are kept at last year's level and the justification is the large number of visitors and the promotion of tourism in the area and local businesses, say the mayors of the two cities.
“It is important to understand that we are talking about a tourist city with high standards. We cannot afford to make compromises, especially in the context where we want to support the business environment and attract tourists. Even in a difficult period, it is essential to continue investing in the image of the city. We tried to be careful about costs, but at the same time to offer a quality event with a long-term impact. We wanted to offer a fair of experiences — a place where people can come at any time and enjoy the scenery, activities and atmosphere“says Paula Romocean, the deputy mayor of Timisoara.
At the level of costs, he claims that this year a reduction in the allocated budget was not taken into account, but on the contrary, more was invested in the idea of long-term benefits.
“Last year, the budget was about 1.4 million. This year, it is somewhere between 1.7 and 1.8 million lei. We had events on each of the three weekends of the fair. We started with “Dor de Florii”, organized on the occasion of the Catholic Floris. The following weekend we had a band from Italy and a band from France doing street shows. And for the closing, we will have Tania Turturianu, together with colleagues from the Philharmonic, who will participate for free. We have, for example, a giant chess board for children, X and 0 games installed in the Liberty Square and other interactive elements that can be reused from June 1.“, the deputy mayor also specified.
Reputation as a priority
It says that the quantifiable results consist of the number of visitors. Last year Timișoara had over 800,000 participants in the events organized by the town hall and this year estimates show that this figure will be exceeded.
And Astrid Fodor, the mayor of Sibiu, says that there is no room for compromise when it comes to promoting the city as the European Capital.
“An important clarification must be made: the Easter fair is not financed by the local administration, i.e. by the Sibiu City Hall. It is organized and financed by a private operator. Our contribution is limited only to the cultural events that take place on stage. We will continue to budget for cultural events, because we do not want Sibiu to lose its status as a cultural city. It is a status won after 2007, when we were the European Capital of Culture, and which we consolidated it over time. Both I and my colleagues from the City Council believe that investment in culture is not an expense, but an investment in the development of the city.”
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The mayor says that the winning projects were within the cost margin of previous years, without considering a budget cut for 2026:
“Also, we have maintained the funding for the cultural institutions subordinated to the City Hall and the City Council. We have not reduced these allocations, because we do not consider it the time for culture to suffer because of the economic context. We are talking about a varied range: concerts, street performances and other cultural events, especially outdoors. Most of them are free for the public.”
Sibiu City Hall pays 350,000 lei for a large event and 250,000 lei for an average impact in relation to the number of participants, the basic criterion in the selection of projects: “In the case of a tourist town there is no time to compromise, not even at Easter, even if we are talking about a time when cuts and austerity are being discussed.”
Craiova Easter Fair, PHOTO: Facebook, Craiova City Hall
At the national level, austerity leaves its mark
Craiova, famous for its Easter and Christmas fairs, reduced the budget this year, the final amount of the organization services being almost 320,000 lei, excluding VAT. In 2025, the municipality spent almost 550,000 lei on these services.
The event, which has become one of the main attractions of the city during the Easter holidays, takes place until May 3 in the “Nicolae Romanescu” park. The theme chosen this year is the World of Stories.
“This year we are bringing other attractions: a roller coaster, the giant wheel, boats, electric carts, a medieval village with traveling artists, parades of medieval costumes, interactive workshops for children, performances of our cultural institutions, all in the dream setting of the Romanescu Park, more flourishing than ever“, explained the mayor of Craiova, Lia Olguța Vasilescu, according to discoverdolj.ro.
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However, there are also cities that have chosen not to dedicate a budget for the Easter Holidays. The capital will have an Easter fair organized at the level of Sector 3, in the IOR park, but the representatives of the Capital City Hall have said that no funds have been provided for special events.
And in Iasi, the adopted strategy was not to allocate money to supplement the events in the city.
“We only did the current arrangements, especially those related to cleaning. We did not have amounts of money to cover other types of expenses, so there is no question of an Easter fair organized by the town hall.
There are the traditional fairs that take place on Ștefan cel Mare Boulevard, but they are short-lived and usually come to town and then leave. Otherwise, I didn't organize anything extra. There is also uncertainty about what the budget will look like for 2026. We already have signals that the amounts will be lower than last year, so we are very careful about spending”says Mihai Chirica, the mayor of Iași.
It shows that there are activities of cultural institutions that provide alternatives for those who choose to spend the holidays in the city.
“For example, the Municipal Museum, the Palace of Culture or the Central University Library had their own programs dedicated to the Easter holidays. These are own initiatives, they do not involve an additional budget from the mayor's office.”
In the Capital, “Easter Wonderland”, organized by the City Hall of Sector 3, takes place between April 5-14, 2026, in Titan Park (IOR).
