Rules and Regulations

APPLICATIONS

(Professional Category: deadline 1st of September 2026 | All Other Categories: deadline 25th of September 2026)

• Applications must be submitted via the online application form available on the Festival’s official website.
• An application shall be deemed valid and complete only upon receipt of proof of payment of the registration fee. The registration fee must be paid to the account of the association Musica Pannonica.

Payment Details

Registration Fees

• Soloists (Categories I–V) – €70
• Chamber Ensembles (Categories VI–VIII) – €35 per ensemble member (€175 for ensembles of five or more members)
• Professional Category (no age limit) – €100

COMPETITION CATEGORIES

Chamber ensembles must include at least one guitar.

PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY (No Age Limit)

First Round

• The programme must consist of 12-15 minutes of music and include works from at least two different stylistic periods, selected at the competitor’s discretion.

Final Round

• The programme must consist of 15-20 minutes of music and must include one work from the Classical period originally composed for guitar between 1800 and 1850.

COMPETITION RULES

• Participation is open to competitors whose applications meet all eligibility requirements and are submitted in full within the prescribed deadlines. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in disqualification.
• All rounds of the competition are open to the public.
• Competitors must have the sheet music for all performed works available and must present it to the Jury upon request.
• In all categories except Categories VI, VII and VIII (Chamber Ensembles), programme must be played by heart.
• The Jury shall evaluate performances according to the following criteria:

Technical proficiency and accuracy

Tone production and sound quality

Phrasing and stylistic awareness

Musicality and artistic expression

Overall artistic impression

• The decisions of the Jury are final and binding.
• The Jury shall consist of three to eight members.
• A Jury member shall not evaluate a competitor who is their student or a competitor with whom they have a family relationship.
• Competitors shall be evaluated on a scale from 0 to 100 points.
• The final score shall be calculated by adding together the points awarded by all eligible Jury members and dividing the total by the number of Jury members who evaluated the competitor.
• Before the final average is calculated, the highest and lowest scores shall be adjusted to within three points of the next highest and next lowest scores respectively, should the difference exceed three points.
• According to the final score achieved, the following awards shall be granted:

• Prizes shall be awarded for first, second and third place in each category.
• The Jury reserves the right not to award any or all prizes.
• Competitors who exceed the prescribed time limit may be disqualified.
• Registration fees are non-refundable in the event of withdrawal or non-attendance.
• The order of performance shall be determined alphabetically by surname, beginning with a randomly selected letter.
• Competitors shall be granted free admission to listen to all Festival concerts, lectures, masterclasses and competition.
• By participating in the Festival, all participants consent to the use of photographs, video recordings and other audiovisual materials by the Organiser for promotional and archival purposes without entitlement to financial compensation.
• The Organiser shall not be held liable for any injury, accident, loss, theft or damage to personal property suffered by competitors, teachers, accompanying persons or guests during the Festival.
• By submitting an application, participants acknowledge and accept all competition regulations and confirm the accuracy and authenticity of the information provided.

SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY

• All competition regulations stated above shall also apply to the Professional Category unless otherwise specified in the present section.
• The Professional Category shall be conducted in two rounds.
• The programmes for both the First Round and the Final Round must be specified in the application form and may not be altered after submission.

First Round (Online)

• The First Round shall be conducted online by means of a video recording.
• The recording must be uploaded to YouTube and must clearly display the official poster of the Osijek International Guitar Festival throughout the recording.
• The title of the YouTube video must follow the format below:

Osijek International Guitar Festival 2026 – First Round – Competitor’s Name

• The description of the video must include the complete programme performed.
• The recording must be made in a single, uninterrupted take and must not contain any editing, cuts, post-production processing or montage of any kind.
• Comments on the video must be disabled.
• The deadline for submitting the YouTube link is:

1st of September 2026

• Only videos submitted by the stated deadline and meeting all technical requirements shall be considered valid.

Selection of Finalists

• Competitors in the Professional Category shall not be evaluated through the standard numerical scoring system applied in the other categories.
• Following the assessment of the First Round submissions, the Jury shall select a maximum of five finalists.
• The list of finalists shall be published in alphabetical order on 10th of September 2026 on the Festival’s official website and social media platforms.
• All finalists shall also be notified individually via email.

Final Round

• The Final Round shall take place live in Osijek, Croatia on 17th of October 2026.
• Works performed in the First Round may not be repeated in the Final Round.
• All travel, accommodation and other expenses related to participation in the competition shall be borne exclusively by the competitors.

JURY

Xhevdet Sahatxhija (Croatia / Kosovo)

Sanel Redžić (Germany / Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Tomislav Vasilj (Croatia)

Anđela Jerkunica (Croatia)

Marko Feri (Slovenia / Italy)

Thomas Offermann (Germany)

Pia Gazarek Offermann (Germany)

• The Organiser reserves the right to make changes to the composition of the Jury in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

• By submitting an application, all competitors, teachers, parents, legal guardians and accompanying persons acknowledge that they have read, understood and accepted these regulations in their entirety.
• The Organiser reserves the right to interpret these regulations and to resolve any matters not expressly covered herein.
• In the event of any dispute regarding the interpretation of these regulations, the decision of the Organiser shall be final.