On Towel Day Weekend May the 23rd till 25th — it is a long week due to Pentecost — the world is celebrating the immortal deeds of Douglas Adams:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
The Meaning of Liff
Doctor Who’s 17th season (1979-80)
his contributions to Monty Python Sketches
In collaboration with the INSPIRATA and the German Museum of Books and Writing (DBSM) of the German National Library we are organizing the party in Leipzig:
| start | venue | event | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat–Mon | 10–6 | INSPIRATA | INSPIRATA goes hitchhiking | |
| Sat | 10 | WissensSpuren | How did men make it to the Moon? | |
| Sun | 12 | DBSM | Birthday Stage program | |
| Mon | 2 | INSPIRATA | Prize Presentation | |
Towel Day Competitions 2026
The Best Equipment for Hitchhiking the Galaxy
On Towel Day, everyone needs to know where the towel is hanging.
Show us what other items you take along
when hitchhiking the universe:
By making your presentation on the spot in the INSPIRATA,
sending a link to a submission video,
or submitting it at the INSPIRATA.
The presentations must not be longer than 5 minutes. Presentations in the INSPIRATA will be made into films. All videos will be shown on the site and on the WissensSpuren websites.
The presentations can be delivered in 🇬🇧 English and 🇩🇪 German or in any other language of the known Universe. In the latter case either online translations or Babel fishes should be supplied for the audience.
The Best Spaceships
Mankind is heading back into space. Hence, it’s time again to look out for the most talented space-ship builders of all ages, genders, decents:
- bring and present your spaceship models
- bring your ideas, bits and pieces of material, and build it on the spot!
Help will be available in the INSPIRATA.
Finished spaceships will be displayed there, and on Sunday also at the German Museum of Books and Writing (DBSM) of the German National Library.
The Most Confounded Vogon Verses
Authoritative sources claim that humans can write even more unpleasant verses than Vogons, and supposedly there’s nothing worse than lyrics presented to praise someone on a special occasion. We’re putting this to the test with poetry to mark the 25th anniversary of Douglas Adams’ death:
Send us your verses! We will feature them on our website and social media channels, and the verses can be recited on Sunday on stage at the National Library! We are looking forward to performances in 🇬🇧 English and 🇩🇪 German.
Juries and Prizes
A committee of expert jurors will nominate winners of the three competitions.
In addition there will be a public vote for the Audience Award.
The winners will be announced at the
| Award Ceremony | ||
| Date | Monday, 25 May 2026 | |
| Time | 2pm | |
| Venue | INSPIRATA | |
| Languages | 🇩🇪🇬🇧 | German and English |
. DNA Press Photo by Jill Furmanovsky.](https://leipziger-wissensspuren.de/blog/2026-05-25_adams/Douglas_adams_dna7.jpg)
Douglas Adams. DNA Press Photo by Jill Furmanovsky.