The Park City Council has approved plans for the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
The last in Utah before moving to Boulder, Colorado, it runs from Jan. 22 to Feb. 1. Councilmember Ryan Dickey said overall, Old Town will operate much like 2025 with a few changes.
“It's going to look really similar to prior years,” he said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Friday. “They're activating the Doubletree as a theater again.”
For the first time since 2023, the Yarrow DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, will return to host a full 10-day slate of films.
This comes amid one of the festival’s most notable changes, the historic Egyptian Theatre will not screen films for the first time since Sundance came to Park City in 1981.
Theatre manager Randy Barton previously told KPCW the space is no longer set up for film. However, according to council documents it may host a one-day panel discussion.
And for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Eccles Center will host showings and events both weeks of the festival.
Similar to 2025, no vehicles will be allowed on Park City’s Main Street for the first five days of Sundance.
As Main Street pedestrian traffic wanes, Dickey said roads and parking will start to reopen.
“Sometimes residents get frustrated. It feels like it's hard to park and get to Old Town when it feels a little more empty,” he said. “So that Tuesday of Sundance, parking and the streets will return back to normal.”
Dickey said attendance at the top of Main Street was limited in 2025 so the council is working to secure more activations from top to bottom.
“You had people walking up the street saying, ‘Wow, isn't this great?’ And they kind of get to the area where the bars are and there's music playing, and they sort of get stuck and stop,” he said.
Acura will return to Bob Wells Plaza, Hulu will have a “Little Miss Sunshine” activation at the Galleria lot and Chase Sapphire will be at 625 Main.
The city encourages locals and visitors to use public transit to relieve parking pressure. Buses will run from the Richardson Flat park-and-ride every 20 minutes from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.
