Bali Governor Closes PKB 2026 with 1.8 Million Visitors in a Month

Bali Governor Wayan Koster officially closed the 48th Bali Arts Festival (PKB) on Saturday, reporting a total of 1,822,857 visitors over the course of a month. “The number of visitors, not yet including tonight’s figures, has reached more than 1.8 million people, compared to 1.6 million last year, so it has increased by more than 200,000,” Koster said in Denpasar. The PKB 2026, themed ‘Atma Kerthi: Jiwa Siddha Parishudha’ and held from 13 June to 11 July, saw improvements not only in visits to the Art Centre. In terms of participation, 673 institutions or art groups actively presented their work, a jump from 517 groups in the previous year. The total number of artists performing at PKB 2026 reached 20,929, an increase of 4.2 percent from the year before. “The number of artworks displayed this year reached 879, a significant increase from 592 in 2025, so the artworks were extraordinary,” the Governor said. Foreign tourist visits also surged by 137.7 percent compared to 2025, which recorded only 2,416 visits, indicating growing international interest in Balinese arts. Beyond physical attendance, the provincial government’s social media coverage of the festival garnered 2,124,000 views. Koster noted that the enthusiasm for PKB 2026 not only reflects the preservation of Balinese art and culture but also contributes to the local economy. By providing opportunities for 75 local small and medium enterprises to trade, he recorded transactions worth Rp5 billion. “So besides watching art, we are also encouraging the growth of small and medium industries. This is extraordinary. We will close PKB shortly but continue with the Bali Jani Arts Festival,” he said. Following the month-long PKB, the administration will hold the more modern Bali Jani Arts Festival 2026, themed ‘Atma Kerthi: Kembara Sukma’ or a journey towards a holy soul. This event will feature performances, parades, competitions, workshops, discussions, exhibitions, a book fair, and the Bali Jani Nugraha awards, similar to PKB. The Governor expressed hope that this cross-disciplinary space for artists would serve as a platform to preserve the Balinese arts ecosystem, and that PKB 2027, themed ‘Wana Kerthi Hutan Penyangga Kehidupan’, would be even better than previous years.