Roštiljijada or Leskovac Roštiljijada ( / ; also / ) is a yearly grilled meat barbecue-based festival organised at the beginning of September in

Leskovac Leskovac ( sr-Cyrl, Лесковац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Jablanica District in Southern Serbia (Geographical Region), southern Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a p ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. During the event, the main boulevard is closed for traffic, night and day for five days, with grill stands constructed to create many temporary restaurants. Many visitors from all over Serbia and many tourists from abroad come to Leskovac for the event. The organisers hold competitions, such as making the world's biggest

pljeskavica Pljeskavica ( sr-cyr, пљескавица, , Romanian: Plescaviță) is a Serbian grilled dish consisting of a mixture of spiced minced pork, beef and lamb meat. It is one of the national dishes of Serbia and is very popular in the neighbouring ...

. The festival is the highlight of the season in Leskovac. To attract tourists from Serbia and abroad, the tourist organization organizes every year attractive concerts, fashion shows, carnivals, Miss Election during the period of Roštiljijada festival. So far a lot has been done by raising quality, organizing a festival modeled on the

Oktoberfest Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, such as a media presentations and good marketing which resulted in a very successful festival. According to the City Tourist Board, the number of visitors is one of the top touristic events in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. In 2013, a record number of 600,000 people visited the festival. More than 200 barbecues were operational. In addition to guests from Serbia, many visitors from abroad visit festival as well mostly from

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

World records

In September 2016,

celebrated a world record in making the world's biggest

Pljeskavica Pljeskavica ( sr-cyr, пљескавица, , Romanian: Plescaviță) is a Serbian grilled dish consisting of a mixture of spiced minced pork, beef and lamb meat. It is one of the national dishes of Serbia and is very popular in the neighbouring ...

. The giant burger weighed , was in diameter and thick and made by the great grill master Predrag Lazarević (and his team: Ljubiša Đorđević and Bojan Živković). Đorđević previously held the world record for his Pljeskavica ( in 2009).

International carnival

In 2009, Leskovac officially became an International carnival city, admitted by The

Association of European Carnival Cities Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

, which has over 50 members from Europe and America. The Leskovac carnival is held in a time of the Roštiljijada festival. Around 1,200 people take part in the carnival, of which one third come from abroad. The city government considered having a separation of this event in 2010, as a special tourist event which is going to be introduced as a special offer of the city. Rostiljijadales

References

External links

About
at the official website
Roštiljijada/Roštiljada
at the City of Leskovac website {{In lang, sr
Tourist Festivities
at the City of Leskovac website
Roštiljijada
at the Leskovac tourist board website Barbecue Food and drink festivals in Serbia Hamburgers (food) Leskovac Serbian cuisine Annual events in Serbia Meat festivals Autumn in Serbia