What's on
Festivals, races, and cultural moments worth planning a trip around, by month. Dates read confirmed where the organizer has published them, and expected where we've projected the recurrence. Always verify before booking.
2027 ▸
43 events upcoming in Africa.
July 2026
Festival International de Musique Symphonique d'El Jem
El Jem · Tunisia
Music & Culture Festivals
Concerts across July and August each summer in the Roman amphitheatre of El Jem. Upcoming: the 39th edition runs from about 24 July to 12 August 2026; a 2027 edition is expected across July and August.
Dates & details →Osun-Osogbo Festival
Osogbo · Nigeria
Witness / Attend
Held annually over about two weeks in late July and early August, culminating in the Arugba procession to the Osun river on the final Friday. The 2026 festival ran 27 July to 7 August; the 2027 edition is expected in the same late-July to early-August window.
Dates & details →PANAFEST and Emancipation Day
Cape Coast · Ghana
Witness / Attend
Emancipation Day is commemorated around 1 August every year at the Cape Coast and Elmina castles; the PANAFEST Pan-African festival runs alongside it every two years in odd-numbered years. Upcoming: Emancipation Day observances around 1 August 2026; the next full PANAFEST expected late July to early August 2027.
Dates & details →August 2026
Harare International Festival of the Arts
Harare · Zimbabwe
Music & Culture Festivals
A six-day multidisciplinary arts festival in Harare, historically held in late April or early May and returning in 2026 after an eight-year break. Upcoming: 3 to 9 August 2026 (the comeback edition, theme Up); further editions are planned through 2028 with dates to be announced.
Dates & details →Chale Wote Street Art Festival
Jamestown · Ghana
Music & Culture Festivals
Held in James Town, Accra for about a week in the second half of August each year, free to attend, with dates announced by ACCRA [dot] ALT around June. Upcoming: expected mid-to-late August 2026 and again in August 2027.
Dates & details →Umhlanga Reed Dance
Ludzidzini · Eswatini
Witness / Attend
Held once a year in late August at the Ludzidzini royal residence, an eight-day national ceremony culminating in a main dance day that is a public holiday. Dates are set by the Swazi royal household from ancestral astrology and announced only weeks ahead. The 2026 main day is expected on or around 31 August; the 2027 ceremony is expected in late August.
Dates & details →September 2026
Kwita Izina
Volcanoes National Park · Rwanda
Witness / Attend
Held once a year, usually in early September, at Kinigi in the foothills of Volcanoes National Park, and organised by the Rwanda Development Board. The 21st edition is confirmed for 4 September 2026.
Dates & details →The Roof of Africa
Maseru · Lesotho
Motorcycle Adventure Touring
Held annually over three days in late September in the Maloti Mountains near Maseru, as a round of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. Exact dates shift a few days each year with the FIM calendar. 2026 runs 24 to 26 September; 2027 is expected in late September.
Dates & details →October 2026
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 →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 →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 →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 →November 2026
December 2026
Festival International du Sahara de Douz
Douz · Tunisia
Witness / Attend
About four days at the end of December each year in the Douz festival arena. Upcoming: the 57th edition ran 25 to 28 December 2025; a 58th edition is expected in late December 2026, dates usually confirmed about a month ahead.
Dates & details →Calabar Carnival
Calabar · Nigeria
Witness / Attend
A month-long festival each December in Calabar, with the flagship parades falling between about 26 and 30 December. The 2026 edition runs its main events 26 to 30 December.
Dates & details →AfroFuture
Accra · Ghana
Music & Culture Festivals
Held in Accra over two days in late December each year as the headline event of Ghana's Detty December. Upcoming: expected 28 to 29 December 2026 and again in late December 2027; dates and venue confirmed by the organisers closer to the time.
Dates & details →January 2027
Vodun Days
Ouidah · Benin
Witness / Attend
Held every year on 8 to 10 January in Ouidah, built around Benin's 10 January national holiday for traditional religions. The 2026 edition ran 8 to 10 January; the 2027 edition is expected on the same dates.
Dates & details →Timkat
Gondar · Ethiopia
Witness / Attend
Timkat, the Ethiopian Orthodox Epiphany, falls on 11 Ter, which is 19 January in most years and 20 January in the year before a Gregorian leap year, with the Ketera eve procession the afternoon before. Upcoming: 19 January 2027 in Gondar; 20 January 2028.
Dates & details →February 2027
Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival
Argungu · Nigeria
Witness / Attend
Held annually over about four days in February or March in Argungu, culminating in the mass fishing contest on the Sokoto river. Suspended for several years over security and revived by the Kebbi State Government; the 61st edition ran 11 to 14 February 2026.
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 →N'cwala
Chipata · Zambia
Witness / Attend
Held once a year on the last Saturday of February at Mutenguleni village, near Chipata in Zambia's Eastern Province, as the Ngoni first-fruits ceremony. The Ngoni paramount chief presides, tasting the first produce of the season, and warriors perform the ingoma war dance. The ceremony in its modern form was revived in 1980. Upcoming: the 2026 N'cwala was held on 28 February 2026; the 2027 ceremony is expected on 27 February 2027.
Dates & details →FESPACO
Ouagadougou · Burkina Faso
Film Festivals
Held once every two years, in the odd years, over about a week from late February into early March, across the cinemas of Ouagadougou. The 29th edition ran from 22 February to 1 March 2025; the 30th is confirmed for 27 February to 6 March 2027.
Dates & details →March 2027
April 2027
Windhoek Karneval
Windhoek · Namibia
Witness / Attend
About ten days in late March or early April, timed around Easter. Upcoming: April 1 to 11, 2027.
Dates & details →FEMUA
Abidjan · Cote d'Ivoire
Music & Culture Festivals
Held each year over about six days spanning late April and early May in Abidjan, with a partner-town leg. The 2026 edition, the eighteenth, ran 28 April to 3 May; the 2027 edition is expected in the same late-April to early-May window.
Dates & details →May 2027
Festival International de Jazz de Saint-Louis
Saint-Louis · Senegal
Music & Culture Festivals
About five nights in mid-May each year on Place Baya in Saint-Louis. Upcoming: 13 to 17 May 2026 (34th edition); a 2027 edition is expected in mid-May.
Dates & details →MTN Bushfire
Malkerns · Eswatini
Music & Culture Festivals
Held annually over the last weekend of May at House on Fire in the Malkerns Valley, a three-day Pan-African music and arts festival organised by the House on Fire arts venue. The 19th edition runs 29 to 31 May 2026; the 20th is expected in late May 2027.
Dates & details →July 2027
Evala
Kara · Togo
Witness / Attend
Held each July across the twelve cantons of the Kozah prefecture around Kara, as the Kabye initiation wrestling. The 2026 wrestling ran 11 to 18 July; the 2027 edition is expected in the same mid-July window.
Dates & details →Festival International de Musique Symphonique d'El Jem
El Jem · Tunisia
Music & Culture Festivals
Concerts across July and August each summer in the Roman amphitheatre of El Jem. Upcoming: the 39th edition runs from about 24 July to 12 August 2026; a 2027 edition is expected across July and August.
Dates & details →PANAFEST and Emancipation Day
Cape Coast · Ghana
Witness / Attend
Emancipation Day is commemorated around 1 August every year at the Cape Coast and Elmina castles; the PANAFEST Pan-African festival runs alongside it every two years in odd-numbered years. Upcoming: Emancipation Day observances around 1 August 2026; the next full PANAFEST expected late July to early August 2027.
Dates & details →Osun-Osogbo Festival
Osogbo · Nigeria
Witness / Attend
Held annually over about two weeks in late July and early August, culminating in the Arugba procession to the Osun river on the final Friday. The 2026 festival ran 27 July to 7 August; the 2027 edition is expected in the same late-July to early-August window.
Dates & details →August 2027
Chale Wote Street Art Festival
Jamestown · Ghana
Music & Culture Festivals
Held in James Town, Accra for about a week in the second half of August each year, free to attend, with dates announced by ACCRA [dot] ALT around June. Upcoming: expected mid-to-late August 2026 and again in August 2027.
Dates & details →Umhlanga Reed Dance
Ludzidzini · Eswatini
Witness / Attend
Held once a year in late August at the Ludzidzini royal residence, an eight-day national ceremony culminating in a main dance day that is a public holiday. Dates are set by the Swazi royal household from ancestral astrology and announced only weeks ahead. The 2026 main day is expected on or around 31 August; the 2027 ceremony is expected in late August.
Dates & details →September 2027
October 2027
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 →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 →December 2027
Calabar Carnival
Calabar · Nigeria
Witness / Attend
A month-long festival each December in Calabar, with the flagship parades falling between about 26 and 30 December. The 2026 edition runs its main events 26 to 30 December.
Dates & details →AfroFuture
Accra · Ghana
Music & Culture Festivals
Held in Accra over two days in late December each year as the headline event of Ghana's Detty December. Upcoming: expected 28 to 29 December 2026 and again in late December 2027; dates and venue confirmed by the organisers closer to the time.
Dates & details →