At Junior Eurovision in Malta, Georgia's entrant Davit Lomidze, winner of the ninth season of 'Ranina', finished fifth with 'Sun on the Rooftops' (94 jury points, 51 online votes). Sixteen countries took part; Armenia's Naré won with 'BOO!'.
A mass baptism took place in the Skhalta diocese of Upper Adjara on 25 October; according to 1TV, about 1,300 people, including adults, were baptised. President Mikheil Kavelashvili and Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili attended. Both spoke about faith, family and the state, and marked 1,700 years since Christianity became Georgia's state religion.
Supporters of the Opposition Alliance gathered at Tbilisi State University's first building on 25 October, the second anniversary of the disputed 2024 election, and marched towards Rustaveli Avenue. The alliance launched a new campaign aimed at building up to a large rally in Tbilisi on 28 November. Leaders of several parties spoke, including Nika Gvaramia, who said turnout would be decisive; speakers also focused on the pending lawsuit to ban opposition parties.
Georgia's ice-dance pair Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin finished second at the Grand Prix de France in Angers with 193.93 points (rhythm dance 77.90, free dance 116.03). France's Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron won (207.57); Carreira and Ponomarenko of the US were third (189.36).
The monumental art commission of Abkhazia's de facto authorities chose a design by sculptor Timur Akhuba for a monument in Gali. Abkhaz outlets describe Ketsba as the town's first inhabitant and founder and give his life as 1806–1943.
Georgia's Anastasiia Gubanova finished second at the Grand Prix de France in Angers with 202.82 points, close behind Japan's Ami Nakai. She set a personal best of 72.63 to place second in the short programme and was third in the free skate. At the same event Georgia's ice dancers Davis and Smolkin also took silver.
Georgian director Levan Koguashvili is among six honourees of the first Golden Globes Silk Road Tribute Gala in Tashkent (Oct 23–24), receiving the Trailblazer Award. The organisers cite Brighton 4th, Street Days, Blind Dates and Gogita's New Life; his latest film, Guria, is Georgia's Oscar submission. Imedi reports the award was presented at the ceremony.
Saturday's traditional march set off on the evening of 24 October from Avlabari metro towards Rustaveli Avenue and Parliament. JAMnews reports hundreds took part with Georgian, EU and Ukrainian flags, calling for a return to European integration, the release of political prisoners and early elections. No incidents were reported.
Georgia's National Food Agency tested 44 spice samples from shops nationwide in September. Laboratory results found Sudan-group azo dyes in a red pepper, two Svan salt products and a minced-meat seasoning. Sales of the products have been banned and they are being withdrawn; consumers are advised not to use them.
JAMnews reports that on October 22 the Constitutional Court granted none of the opposition's motions. It turned down Lelo's requests to involve Venice Commission experts and to seek an advisory opinion from the European Court of Human Rights, and the Coalition for Change's requests for more evidence, witnesses and time to study the case file. The court has until June 24, 2027 to rule.
Citing Galt & Taggart, BM.ge reports third-quarter hotel occupancy of 79% in Tbilisi and 84% in Batumi.
BM.ge reports that residential property prices in Tbilisi rose 5.9% year on year in the third quarter of 2026. Mtatsminda and Vake remain the city's most expensive districts.
According to a U.S. Embassy alert, participants will gather at Tbilisi State University on Ilia Chavchavadze Avenue from about 19:00 and may march, possibly to Heroes Square, temporarily disrupting traffic. RFE/RL reports that the rally opens the opposition's 'Georgia Without Ivanishvili' campaign, planned to run until November 28.
BM.ge reports that Royal Jordanian has begun regular flights between Amman and Tbilisi, adding another direct link to the Middle East.
Banks' filings with the National Bank of Georgia show sector profit of almost GEL 2.9bn in January–September 2026, about 20% higher year on year. Fifteen of 19 banks were profitable; Paysera Bank, Heshbank, Silk Bank and VTB Bank Georgia reported losses.
At Foreign Minister Maka Bochorishvili's initiative, the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan met in Batumi. Talks covered the Middle Corridor, trade, transport and tourism. No signed documents were reported; the sides said they are ready to continue the format.
According to Rosselkhoznadzor, two Georgian dairy processors will be able to enter the Russian market from November 2026. Agency officials met Georgia's National Food Agency in Tbilisi; Russia also plans to inspect six Georgian fish and seafood producers.
Geostat figures show 114,374 people left Georgia in 2025, almost 28% of them aged 20–29. Emigration has halved since its 2023 peak and net migration is positive. Emigrants interviewed by Radio Tavisupleba cite job losses, political pressure and fines alongside money; the EU Asylum Agency recorded over 15,000 asylum applications by Georgian citizens in 2025.
In Freedom on the Net 2026, Freedom House lowered Georgia's score from 70 to 68 and moved it from 'Free' to 'Partly Free' for the first time since 2012. It cites the suppression of online activism and speech critical of Georgian Dream, including fines on journalists over Facebook posts.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar invited Irakli Kobakhidze to events marking 70 years since the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising. According to Georgia's Government Administration, Kobakhidze attended the Budapest commemorations and Magyar's reception on 23 October. Former president Salome Zourabichvili criticised the invitation.
In a joint statement, David McAllister, Nils Ušakovs and Rasa Juknevičienė said Georgian Dream's call for dialogue cannot mask its attempt to ban opposition parties, and urged the Council to impose targeted sanctions. On 24 October Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze called such assessments political interference and said the lawsuit is needed to end polarisation.
Prosecutors detained Asaval-Dasavali journalist Dito Chubinidze and charged him with high treason, alleging he sabotaged the work of the state commission on delimiting and demarcating Georgia's border. Civil.ge links the case to his accusations against the Prime Minister over a land transfer in the Davit Gareji area. His lawyer says the evidence consists of his public interviews; Chubinidze denies the charges.
Hearings began in Batumi on October 21 on a lawsuit filed by 88 Georgian Dream MPs, who argue that the five parties tried to change Georgia's constitutional order by force. The case targets the United National Movement, Coalition for Change, Strong Georgia–Lelo, the Federalists and For Georgia. The court turned down opposition motions; opposition leaders and the EU have warned about the future of political competition.
OC Media sets out which parties are targeted and how the case got here. Legal changes passed in 2025 let the court also ban a party whose goals and membership match one already banned, and the ruling cannot be appealed. On October 19 a European Commission spokesperson said the proceedings point to a troubling use of the justice system.
First Deputy Foreign Minister George Zurabashvili has become the Prime Minister's special representative for relations with Russia. JAMnews looks at what the appointment means for Tbilisi–Moscow ties.
Azerbaijan's APA reports that a journalist was arrested in Georgia for spreading what it calls false information about Keshikchidagh, the Azerbaijani name for the Davit Gareji monastery area on the border. 1news.az describes the case as an accusation of sabotage over statements about Azerbaijan.
Civil.ge reports that the National Bank of Georgia left its key rate unchanged at 8.25% and raised its inflation forecast for 2026 to 5.4%.
The Associated Press frames the lawsuit as the latest step in a crackdown on dissent that followed mass protests over the halted EU accession talks. Critics quoted by the agency say a ban would effectively end political competition. AP notes that since November 2024 the authorities have answered near-daily protests with arrests, fines and tighter rules on assemblies.
Ukraine's Kyiv Post reports that the hearing opened in Batumi and was streamed live on the court's YouTube channel, and that the opposition has announced a major protest rally for November 28.
German-language Caucasus Watch reports that Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, the OSCE chair-in-office, met Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili on October 16 and visited the administrative boundary line with the Tskhinvali region. The visit came as Georgia makes its first bid to chair the OSCE, for 2027; reports cited by the outlet say some EU member states prefer Cyprus.
Reporting from Batumi, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty says the opposition alliance has promised a month of rallies around the country against the ban. Much of the case material comes from a parliamentary commission led by Georgian Dream MP Tea Tsulukiani, and the lawsuit also accuses the parties of seeking to raise tensions with Russia.
A Tbilisi judge sentenced journalist Vakho Sanaia to 30 days of administrative detention on October 19 over two Facebook posts and a video concerning Shalva Papuashvili and Lado Bozhadze, Netgazeti reports. Police detained him at home. He had been fined in July and then detained for 14 days over similar posts. The Media Advocacy Coalition called the case pressure on journalism and free expression.
1news.az reports Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, Georgian Dream's secretary general, saying European countries supported unrest in Georgia and now face similar unrest at home, in a comment on events in France. The claim is Kaladze's; the EU has previously rejected what it called disinformation about its role in Georgia.
Six men convicted in the fourth episode of the October 4 case were released from Gldani prison on October 16, Netgazeti reports, citing TV Pirveli. Eleven of the thirteen defendants had admitted guilt under plea deals and received one year in prison plus three years' probation; one defendant who rejected a deal was sentenced to five years.
The Tbilisoba festival in Warsaw on October 3–4, held with TBC's support, drew thousands of Georgian emigrants alongside Polish and international guests. The event centred on Georgian culture and traditions and on connecting the community in Poland.
The Colorado Georgian Community Association (Ertoba), with Kartveli Wines, held Tbilisoba on October 4 at the Centennial Center Park Amphitheater, with a concert featuring Nini Shermadini and Georgian folk dancers, plus Georgian food and wine. The organisers billed it as the largest Georgian event in the state's history.
China's state broadcaster CGTN reported on June 9 that China and Georgia had announced an upgrade of their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
Reporters Without Borders says that since 2022 Beijing has expanded its media presence in Georgia through local partners rather than its own channel, including a weekly programme on Obiektivi TV built from China Media Group content and reportedly funded by the Chinese embassy. RSF finds that Chinese narratives, including reprinted Global Times articles, closely track Kremlin talking points.