Not just a race: the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship brings music, meetings and entertainment for all ages to Imola
The countdown has started. There is less than a month left until the great return of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship in Imola. On stage from 17 to 19 Aprilthe 6 Hours promises much more than a sporting event. «The race, the only Italian stage of the world endurance championship, will be a Fan City Experience in the name of Made in Italy» announces the mayor Marco Panieri enthusiastically. «A unique event in the WEC calendar – echoes the general director of the Autodromo Pietro Benvenuti – because here the event does not end on the track, but extends to the squares, streets and parks of the entire city». So much so that there is no better opportunity to discover Imola.
How the event takes place
During the days of the event, atEnzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack the essence of the race is concentrated: pure adrenaline, strategies at the limit, the roar of the Hypercars that passes through the air like a discharge. But it is just beyond the gates that this energy finds its most original form. The queen of the Motor Valley is transformed into an open-air stage where everything contributes to building a widespread, dynamic and surprisingly accessible experience. This is confirmed by the program of events created for the occasion: concerts – like the one on Saturday evening by DJ Martin Solveig – close encounters with the drivers, including autographs and selfies, fan zones with simulators to feel like champions behind the wheel even just for a few minutes, areas dedicated to the little ones, installations and performances that light up squares and streets. But also visits, guided tours, tastings between culture and food and wine.
Designed for a transversal audience, the schedule aims to involve and mix fans, enthusiasts, curious people and travelers of all ages and backgrounds. And so, following the invisible thread that unites the paddock and the historic centre, separated by just 700 meters away, you enter another dimension. With the roar of the engines as the soundtrack, Imola reveals itself as open-air museum and kingdom of genuine hospitalitywhich surprises without showing off.
What is worth visiting in Imola
Among the artisan shops and traditional pastry shops, you can breathe everything the essence of Romagna hospitalitymade of simplicity and warmth, capable of making you feel at ease even in the midst of a major international event. And you walk to discover the monuments and historic buildings scattered around the centre. The Rocca Sforzesca stands solid and silent, Palazzo Tozzoni tells intimate and aristocratic stories, while the streets invite you to get lost among porticoes, shop windows and discreet views. The pace changes, but not the intensity. Because even off the track and away from the stands, Imola can be overwhelming: in the smiles, in the spontaneous welcome, in the scents that come out of ovens and kitchens. A hot piadina in your hands, a steaming plate of tortellini with meat sauce or creamy squacquerone on the table become part of the story, gourmand breaks a stone’s throw from the circuit, before returning to chase the sound of the engines.
