European Researchers’ Night is scheduled for Friday, 25 September 2026. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions event page announces celebrations across the continent, expecting more than one million visitors of all ages at museums, universities and research institutes in 40 countries.

The initiative is funded through the MSCA & Citizens action under Horizon Europe. The stated aim is to bring research closer to the public: games, discussions, experiments and other activities, plus meetings with researchers in the host city.

Local programmes are not identical. Some projects also run activities on dates close to the main day. Bookings, accessibility and audience age depend on the organiser on the ground, not on a single European timetable.

A recurring objective is to encourage young people’s interest in science, technology and research, including through the complementary “Researchers at Schools” initiative, which takes researchers into schools throughout the year.

One city’s offer cannot be extrapolated to the whole Union. Readers should check the local project map or page for times, registration and access.

This article does not invent workshops, guests or national attendance figures. The estimate of more than one million people comes from the official 2026 event communication, not from a post-event tally.

25 September remains the continental marker; any timetable change should be checked with the local source before travelling.

Image: Adam Nieman, CERN Globe of Science and Innovation, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons; not a photograph from the 2026 edition.

Source consulted: European Researchers’ Night 2026 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.