International Day of Jazz 2026
Presented by the Music Subnetwork of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network
For the fourth edition of the Jazz Day Relay organized by the Member Cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network(UCCN), the theme is Music Moves the Goals! The Music Subnetwork invites UCCN Cities to learn more about the Jazz Day Relay and to participate in the 2026 proposal entitled “Music Moves the Goals.”
For the past three years, the Music Subnetwork’s Jazz Day Relay has brought together the members of the Music Subnetwork around a common musical composition to celebrate International Day of Jazz and to highlight one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
For the 2026 Jazz Day Relay, the Music Subnetwork will open the participation to all UCCN Cities with a special focus on jazz and hip hop. “Music Moves the Goals” highlights the connection between music and sports as forces for positive social change following along the lines of the SDGs and Mondiacult principles.
In the summer of 2026, Canada, Mexico and the United States will host the FIFA Men’s World Cup of Soccer. Of the sixteen cities that are hosting these games, five cities are UCCN member cities. These host cities include Toronto (Media Arts), Guadalajara (Media Arts), Mexico City (Design), Kansas City (Music), and Seattle (Literature). Anticipating the global opportunity to raise awareness about the need for action on the SDGs and post-2030 agenda for culture as a public good, the Music Subnetwork proposes a new approach to the Jazz Day Relay.
Competition for the Composition
Each year, one of the UCCN Music Cities contributes an original composition as the basis for our creative cooperation. This year we are seeking a new jazz composition that will generate excitement and be a framework for different arrangements produced by the participating UCCN Cities.
For 2026, we are seeking a new, original composition from at least one UCCN City. Cities are encouraged to engage their local musical community to generate local participation and awareness of this opportunity – as well as to raise awareness about the UCCN and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). All interested cities will receive an email with additional details on how to participate following the 2026 UCCN Annual Meeting
Process
Each year, the UNESCO Cities of Music share a video montage of music from the UCCN Creative Cities on the occasion of 30 April – the International Day of Jazz. If your city is new to the Jazz Day Relay – we encourage you to visit the website of the Music Subnetwork, and to watch the past versions of the Jazz Day Relay video on YouTube (see links below).
For this year, the Music Subnetwork of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network welcomes contributions from all Member Cities of the Network following the guidelines outlined in our technical specifications. As in years past, each City must record the audio and video of local musical group performing their unique version of a shared composition. Each city’s full video performance will be shared individually via YouTube in a Jazz Day Relay playlist. A montage video of selected performances will be produced.
How it works…
Each year for the annual celebration of the International Day of Jazz on 30thof April, the participating cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network invite musical groups from the UCCN Member Cities to contribute one original performance of a shared musical composition.
The submitted videos are shared in the form of audio/video recordings that feature each group in their city. Together, the compositions “travel” from one city to another – in the form of a musical and media “relay race” around the globe.
These videos are stitched together in a unique montage to highlight the contributing UCCN cities, to build a shared language of musical cooperation, and to advance awareness of one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs).
The focus of each video contribution should highlight local efforts to use music as a vehicle to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.
Each participating city must follow the guidelines and contribute music videos that meet the
required technical specifications for audio and video recordings, or we may be unable to include your contribution.
Each qualifying contribution will be featured in a joint press release, as well as a video playlist shared via YouTube on 30 April 2026. Selected contributions willbe included in a music video playlist, and a montage video will be produced and curated by the UCCN Music City and Jazz Day Relay team.
Timeline
June 24, 2025 – Project announced at the UCCN Annual Meeting
September 20, 2025 – Expressions of Interest Due: Member cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network should express their interest in participating by the end of the month.
Interested cities and musicians should fill out this form: https://forms.gle/NSVYmmJMSViDQ5h16
Week of September 22, 2025 (date and time TBD): Online workshop to cover project details and technical requirements. A zoom link will be emailed to interested cities. Participation is recommended but not required.
This call will review the materials provided for the 2026 edition of the Jazz Day Relay and answer questions – especially for new cities!
October 1, 2025: New Compositions submitted for consideration. A jury of musicians and composers from the past Jazz Day Relay projects will select the 2026 musical composition.
November 1, 2025: New composition announced and distributed to participating cities.
October-November-December 2025: Music and Video Production: Participating cities should work with local musicians, videographers and audio technicians to record a version of the selected 2026 composition with local musicians. Cities are responsible to pay for the costs of hiring local musicians, video and audio producers, and additional staff as needed. UCCN
Cities must seek gender equity on the video, audio and music teams. This is not a volunteer opportunity – please pay your musicians a living wage for their performance and rehearsal time!
February 1, 2026: Final Videos must be submitted online following the technical specification provided by the Jazz Day Relay team. This will include a specific folder (online location) for each city to upload their final video and associated audio files, logos and other required materials. A unique folder will be provided for each participating city.
Technical questions will be addressed in an online meeting with participating cities – open to musicians, composers, and media production crews.
April 1, 2026: Participating Cities distribute a shared press release and help to raise awareness about the publication of the online video playlist (YouTube) and the premiere of the Jazz Day Relay online via the UNESCO Jazz Day official website, the UCCN Music Cities website, London Music Office website, and via social media outlets for all participating cities.
April 27, 2026: Debut of the 2026 Jazz Day Relay!! Available online for the 2026 International Day of Jazz – April 30, 2026.
Learn more about the first three editions of the UNESCO Jazz Day Relay here:
Jazz Day Relay I: 2023 – Life Below Water (SDG14)
The theme of the performance was based on SDG14: “Life Below Water”, connecting musicians around the world through jazz in the same way our rivers, lakes and oceans all interconnect
through the water cycle. The Cities of Frutillar, Chile and Kansas City USA provided the inspiring performance of Afro Red, composed by Jaylen Ward of Kansas City.
The creative collaboration on this project of the UNESCO Creative Cities of Music Network on the International Day of Jazz highlights the importance of local and global efforts for water conservation, healthy oceans and sustainable urban development on the water’s edge.
https://citiesofmusic.net/uccn-music-cluster-jazz-day-relay-2023/
Jazz Day Relay II: 2024 – Climate Action (SDG13)
Continuing the jazz day relay tradition in April 2024 – the City of Daegu shared a gorgeous version of a traditional Korean melody – Bird, Bird Blue bird, and heightened everyone’s attention to the need for immediate action to addressthe global climate crisis through Climate Action SDG Goal 13. https://citiesofmusic.net/jazz-day-video-relay-2024/
Jazz Day Relay III: 2025 – Learning for Lasting Peace (SDG 4: Quality Education)
Building on the success of the 2024 Annual UCCN Meeting in Braga, Portugal, and the conference theme “Bringing Youth to the Table” – the 2025 edition of the Jazz Day Relay invited UCCN Member Cities to engage their young creatives and musicians in a project built of solidarity, creativity, and resilience. For 2025, the musical composition was provided by educator and composer Mark Simeon Ferguson of Adelaide, Australia (UCCN Music City since 2015).
Learn more and watch the video here: https://citiesofmusic.net/international-day-of-jazz-2025/
Jazz Day Relay III: 2025 videos https://www.youtube.com/@unescocitiesofmusic/videos.
Interested cities should email Jacob Wagner (Kansas City/Music) wagnerjaco (at) umkc (dot) edu and Cory Crossman (London/Music) ccrossman (at) london (dot) ca