Urbanowski: San Jose prepares to welcome the world to our region

San Jose will welcome an unprecedented number of fans, athletes and journalists in 2026 for the world’s top sporting events and international and national competitions.

The city has a unique opportunity to showcase its dynamic history and culture, draw new fans to a range of entertainment and attractions and capture the economic impact of all this activity. City officials, our local hospitality industry, regional sports teams and venues and the folks at the San Jose Mineta International Airport have been working together for many months to position San Jose as a home base for visitors and provide local residents opportunities to enjoy the vibrant atmosphere.

It is a special moment in time for city leadership and residents to champion the city’s creative economy, authentic identity and long-term cultural tourism strategy — and to ensure the immediate economic impact remains here, in our local community, rather than in other cities to the north.

While the events that will bring initial attention to the South Bay are sporting events, the arts have a significant role to play in uplifting our city and an opportunity to benefit this year and into the future.

San Jose is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the U.S. and its creative community is vital to the city’s authentic identity. As fans from across the globe flood the area, San Jose will host concerts, festivals, cultural activations and events that highlight the city’s diversity and reputation for innovation — turning the downtown into a hub of excitement and bringing an economic lift to local businesses, hotels and restaurants.

Arts and cultural organizations will have the opportunity to cross-promote performances, concerts, exhibitions and more, appealing to new potential audiences, expanding visibility and increasing attendance and sales. Visit San Jose, the marketing arm for San Jose’s hospitality industry, has provided resources and tools for arts groups to promote events on the new SJ2026 mobile website, and is supporting a range of cultural institutions with marketing assistance. Local arts organizations will benefit from increased hotel stays, as the city’s arts grants program is directly funded through the hotel room tax, or transient occupancy tax.

Hotel guests and visitors from around the world here for the Super Bowl, NCAA March Madness and FIFA World Cup will be introduced to our community through a special issue of Content Magazine that will uplift and spotlight San Jose’s unique creative culture with a guide to hidden gems, popular spots and features of San Jose creative influencers.

The Content Magazine Cultural Guide, a partnership with Visit San Jose and San Jose’s hotels, will be released on Jan. 26 and will be available to visitors in local hotels and at San Jose’s new visitor center — The Locker Room — throughout the year. Follow Content Magazine on social media for more information and how to snag a copy of the special issue.

Throughout 2026, the San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs is engaging local arts groups and artists in a series of large-scale temporary public art installations. Many will have multimedia and audience interaction components. These projects join established and internationally recognized artists, local arts groups, students and local residents to celebrate our community, build bridges, bring joy and activate public spaces.

First up on Jan. 31, just a week before Super Bowl 60, Invisible Skies San Jose will transform San Jose City Hall into a temporary observatory and an immersive art experience featuring a pop-up flash performance art piece with 2,000 San Jose locals carrying prop umbrellas displaying images from various celestial bodies.

Invisible Skies San Jose is the vision of Elizabeth Turk, a native Californian and MacArthur Fellow, Annalee & Barnett Newman Foundation recipient and Smithsonian Artist Fellow. It builds on Turk’s interactive installations in other cities across the globe, and in San Jose is a collaboration between ETProjects, the San Jose Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs, the Lick Observatory, Children’s Discovery Museum, San Jose State University, Team San Jose and more. To participate, sign up today. Future public art installations and space activations are being planned for March and June at other locations around San Jose.

So get ready, San Jose! It’s 2026, and we are about to welcome the world to our region. Things are going to look different, and we have lots to celebrate — let’s not miss this opportunity to lean in and score big.

Alexandra Urbanowski is CEO of SV Creates, the state and county designated arts service organization and local arts agency for Santa Clara County. She serves on the leadership committee for the California Coalition of County Art Agencies and is on the board of the statewide arts advocacy organization California for the Arts/California Arts Advocates. Her columns appear every first Wednesday of the month. Contact Alexandra at [email protected].