For its 7th edition, the Nuit de la Culture in Esch-sur-Alzette has undergone some changes.

Completely redesigned, this year’s Nuit de la Culture marks the beginning of a new era as a new concept that gives a new place to culture in Esch and will see the entire city mobilise. This "mutation" began in 2016 when the city of Esch-sur-Alzette joined the Agenda 21 for Culture, thus becoming the pilot city of the European programme 2016-2019. In June 2017, Esch also adopted a cultural strategy for the next 10 years entitled "Connections", aimed at supporting, strengthening and encouraging the cultural development of Esch in the long term. In November 2017, the non-profit organisation Nuit de la Culture conducted a "self-analysis" of the 5 May event and came to the conclusion that, in order to be in tune with the intentions of Esch's cultural strategy, it was necessary to involve the entire city and not just the cultural institutions.

The revamped event puts cultural associations and inhabitants at its heart, offering a programme that invites them to take over the city in the evening, at a time when everyone can get involved in their own way. The intention is twofold: to surprise, with a deliberately offbeat tone and sometimes absurd animations having a very distant relation with the culture as it is conceived, and to meet the inhabitants of Esch-sur-Alzette through shows or performances that will delight families, retirees, students, young couples from all backgrounds, languages ​​or nationalities.

Last but not least, the Nuit de Culture has chosen a theme this year: “Night and Dreams”. The population will therefore "dream its city" for one night. The dream will come in all its forms from individual and collective dreams to happy dreams, nightmares and premonitory dreams. These are all dreams that will haunt the night in Esch, as well as the common dream of transforming the city for the future.

Throughout the evening, the streets, squares and dwellings will be the unique and exploded scene of this event. Inhabitants and visitors will be able to wander through a magical territory, cleared for one night of its ordinary constraints. A building that was inconspicuous yesterday becomes an ephemeral monument or exhibition space, a banal space becomes the theatre of a performance.

The culture night will be composed of four parts. Firstly, activities for children (upon registration at the Rockhal) from 14:00-18:00 on the grounds of the Rockhal and Belval Plaza. These include creative animation workshops, interactive music installations and guided tours. Following this, a series of performances will kick off at 18:00 in the old quarter of Esch and Brill neighbourhoods. More than 40 stations, offering performances of 5 to 20 minutes each and less than a 5-minute walk, can be visited and offer the whole family unforgettable experiences. These will end at 21:00 when a parade will leave the Place de la Resistance towards the Rue de l’Alzette, featuring hidden musicians, cheerleaders, children somnambulists, immobile dancers and lantern carriers ... at every corner, a new group will complete this magical parade. Once at the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, the parade will head to the Arcelor Mittal site in Esch-Schifflange where the finale will take place. Inhabitants will then see the closing ceremony, a fireworks display directed by the company Carabosse.

A marquee will serve as both an information point and a dance floor for the final concert. Composed of mirrors, woods, alcoves, benches, a dance floor and a bar, this marquee called "Magic Mirror", will host concerts until 02:00. There will also be a range of foodtrucks and local associations keeping the public from getting hungry. Several partner restaurants will also offer a special dish for the occasion.