Mangkunegaran Solo 2025 Where Traditions Meet New Energy

The Mangkunegaran Run in Solo 2025 was held on Saturday, April 19, 2025. Why not on Sunday like most running events? Because Saturday allowed more people, including families and tourists, to participate. Sunday could then be used for sightseeing and enjoying Solo’s cultural and culinary richness.

On that Saturday, Mangkunegaran was very lively. As part of the 268th anniversary celebration of Mangkunegaran, a music concert called "Laras Hati" was held in the afternoon at the front courtyard of Puro Mangkunegaran. The event featured performances by Kunto Aji, Bernadya, Maliq & D’Essentials, and Souljah, aiming to promote the spirit of preserving Indonesia’s culture in a fresh and relevant way for the young generation.

Because of these two major events on the same day, the area around Puro Mangkunegaran became busy starting from Thursday, during race pack collection at Puro Mangkunegaran.

Traffic jams were noticeable on roads leading to the venue, especially since the streets of Solo are not very wide or long. I personally experienced getting stuck in traffic while trying to meet fellow photographers at a café near Puro Mangkunegaran.

This year, the number of participants increased by almost 1,000 compared to the previous year. Around 5,000 runners joined the event, competing in three categories: Half Marathon, 10K, and 5K.

As in previous races, the routes passed by Solo's historical landmarks, such as Fort Vastenburg — once a Dutch fort overseeing the Surakarta Palace — and the Surakarta City Hall — formerly the residence of the Dutch governor. The start and finish lines were located at the courtyard of Puro Mangkunegaran, a historic site and cultural icon of Solo.

Like many cities hosting running events, through Mangkunegaran Run, the Solo city government aims to strengthen Solo’s image as a sport tourism destination rooted in local culture.

The event also supports local small businesses and creates a space for healthy, inclusive, and inspiring public interaction.

With the increasing number of participants, more photos were captured during the event.

To help runners easily find their photos, the organizers partnered with

a photo tagging platform using BIB number recognition.

In less than a second, runners could view and download their photos simply by entering their BIB number.