Calendar / October 2026
What's on in October 2026
Dates read confirmed where the organizer has published them, and expected where we've projected the recurrence. Always verify before booking.
2027 ▸
18 events in October 2026.
Investiture of the Captains Regent
City of San Marino · San Marino
Witness / Attend
A state ceremony held on fixed dates twice a year, on 1 April and 1 October. Upcoming: 1 October 2026 (confirmed); 1 April 2027 and 1 October 2027 (confirmed by the fixed calendar).
Dates & details →Lake of Stars
Nkhotakota · Malawi
Music & Culture Festivals
Three days on the Lake Malawi shore, usually late September or early October. Upcoming: October 2 to 4, 2026, at Nkhotakota.
Dates & details →Golden Eagle Festival
Bayan-Olgii · Mongolia
Witness / Attend
The main Golden Eagle Festival runs on the first weekend of October outside Olgii, Bayan-Olgii, with a smaller Sagsai festival in September. Upcoming: 3-4 October 2026; first weekend of October 2027.
Dates & details →National Wine Day (Ziua Nationala a Vinului)
Chisinau · Moldova
Music & Culture Festivals
The first weekend of October each year, in Chisinau's Great National Assembly Square. The 2026 edition, the 25th, runs 3 to 4 October; the 2027 edition is expected on 2 to 3 October.
Dates & details →Busan International Film Festival
Busan · South Korea
Film Festivals
Annual, roughly ten days in early-to-mid October.
Dates & details →Film Fest Gent
Ghent · Belgium
Film Festivals
Held each October in Ghent over about eleven days, organised by the Film Fest Gent non-profit, and incorporating the World Soundtrack Awards. Upcoming: 7 to 18 October 2026 (53rd edition, World Soundtrack Awards on 10 October); a 2027 edition is expected in October.
Dates & details →Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix
Marina Bay · Singapore
Witness / Attend
Held annually on the Marina Bay Street Circuit in downtown Singapore as Formula 1's original night race, organised by Singapore GP Pte Ltd, historically in September and scheduled for October in 2026, with the main grand prix under lights on the Sunday evening. Upcoming: 9 to 11 October 2026 (adding Singapore's first F1 Sprint on the Saturday); 2027 dates confirmed by the promoter and Formula 1 nearer the time.
Dates & details →Felabration
Lagos · Nigeria
Music & Culture Festivals
Held over about a week each October at the New Afrika Shrine in Lagos, timed around Fela Kuti's 15 October birthday. Dates are confirmed by the organisers nearer the time; the 2026 edition is expected in mid-October.
Dates & details →Lalon Smaran Utsav
Kushtia · Bangladesh
Music at the Source
Bauls and devotees gather at Lalon's shrine in Cheuria, Kushtia, twice a year: for about three days around Dol Purnima (the Falgun full moon, roughly February to March) and for three days from 1 Kartik (around 16 October), the anniversary of Lalon Shah's death. The Dol Purnima dates shift with the lunar calendar each year; the autumn festival falls near mid-October.
Dates & details →Witness / Attend in Kolkata
Kolkata · India
Witness / Attend
Durga Puja follows the lunar calendar, falling in late September or October.
Dates & details →Rolex Middle Sea Race
Valletta · Malta
Sailing
Starts from Grand Harbour, Valletta on a Saturday in mid-to-late October each year. Upcoming: the 47th edition starts on 17 October 2026; a 2027 edition is expected in mid-to-late October.
Dates & details →Sierra Leone Marathon
Makeni · Sierra Leone
Running / Endurance
Held once a year in Makeni, organised by the charity Street Child, with full and half marathon, 10k, 5k and a 75k cycle challenge. The 2026 edition runs 21 to 26 October 2026 (race day within that window); earlier editions ran in May. The 2027 edition is expected in a similar autumn window. It repeats every year.
Dates & details →Witness / Attend in Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel · Egypt
Witness / Attend
Fixed dates set by the sun: February 22 and October 22 every year.
Dates & details →World Creole Music Festival
Roseau · Dominica
Music & Culture Festivals
Held over three nights on the last weekend of October at Windsor Park Sports Stadium in Roseau, staged by the Discover Dominica Authority as the centrepiece of the island's Independence and Creole season, and running since 1997. Bouyon, cadence-lypso, zouk, soca, reggae, dancehall and afrobeat from across the Creole world. Upcoming: the 26th edition is confirmed for 23 to 25 October 2026.
Dates & details →Abissa
Grand-Bassam · Cote d'Ivoire
Witness / Attend
Held each year over about a week from the last Sunday of October to the first Sunday of November in the historic quarter of Grand-Bassam. A traditional N'zima community festival with no single organiser; dates follow the fixed rule rather than an annual announcement.
Dates & details →Hawaiki Nui Va'a
Bora Bora · French Polynesia
Witness / Attend
Held over three consecutive days in late October or early November each year, run by the Comite Organisateur Hawaiki Nui Va'a for the Federation Tahitienne de Va'a, which owns the race. Six-person outrigger crews paddle an 80-mile open-ocean course from Huahine to Raiatea, on to Tahaa, and finishing in the Bora Bora lagoon on the final day. Upcoming: 33rd edition, 29 to 31 October 2026 (Bora Bora finish 31 October); 2027 dates fall in late October or early November and are confirmed by the organiser nearer the time.
Dates & details →Divali Nagar
Chaguanas · Trinidad and Tobago
Witness / Attend
Divali follows the Hindu lunar calendar, falling on the new moon of Kartik between mid-October and mid-November, and the National Council of Indian Culture stages the Divali Nagar for the nine nights leading up to it in Chaguanas. The 2025 edition ran 11 to 19 October; Divali 2026 falls on 8 November, so the 2026 Nagar is expected in the days before it.
Dates & details →Witness / Attend in Oaxaca
Oaxaca · Mexico
Witness / Attend
Core dates fixed: October 31 through November 2.
Dates & details →In season in October
Beyond dated events: where October is honestly good, from our featured picks. Every link is a full guide with timing, conditions, and providers.
Wildlife Safaris
- Andasibe-Mantadia
- Bale Mountains
- Belovezhskaya Pushcha
- Brunei River
- Central Suriname Nature Reserve
- Chengdu
- Chobe National Park
- Churchill
- Etosha National Park
- Funafuti Conservation Area
- Gorongosa National Park
- Hula Valley
- Hwange National Park
- Iwokrama Forest
- Liwonde National Park
- Mana Pools National Park
- South Luangwa National Park
- Tari
- Zarnesti