GOLD 2026

GOLD interlinks the best of Bruges's Golden Age: the city’s fascinating history, its heritage architecture, its art treasures and above all its music, which for centuries literally set the tone throughout Europe. This fourth edition of the festival tells the story of a strong woman, Duchess Mary of Burgundy (1457-1482). Mary was not quite twenty when her inheritance made her ruler of the rich and prosperous but also discontented Burgundian hereditary lands. Mary was very fond of Bruges. Key moments in her life took place there: her proxy marriage, the birth of her son Philip the Fair and her funeral. A (musical) portrait of modern leadership avant la lettre.