Interethnic festivals: The celebrations of multiculturalism and/or the guardians of ethnicity

Apart from a short history of Banat Zrenjanin, as well as descriptions of inter-ethnic events that take place in the city, the paper analyzes the function of inter-ethnic events in the city, based on evidence collected from the literature and the media. The analysis showed that inter-ethnic events in Zrenjanin primarily reflect the multicultural city policy to promote ethnic diversity and tolerance, as well as contribute to the development of the regional identity of Banat. Despite that fact they are often used for the revival of ethnicity, which contributes to the division in the local community.