Entertainment in Kazakhstan in 2026: Concerts, Shows, and Nights Out

Kazakhstan's entertainment culture reflects a country making deliberate investments in cultural infrastructure alongside rapid economic development. The EXPO 2017 Astana site has been converted to a permanent cultural and entertainment complex including the EXPO Congress Centre and multiple performance spaces. The country's dombyra and kobyz traditional music traditions — associated with the akyn bard-poets who performed the Manas epic — are heard at cultural events and concerts across the country. The Almaty Jazz Festival, held in the Medeo outdoor arena high above the city, and the country's opera season at the Abai State Opera and Ballet Theatre add the classical and popular registers. Nauryz — the Persian New Year celebrated across Central Asia with outdoor music, games, and communal feasts — is the country's most vivid public entertainment event.