Africa 2027: Festival season is getting ready — from FESPACO to Bushfire, the continent is meeting the world
Cinema, urban music, jazz, carnivals: Africa's festivals enter its 2027 season with major announcements. FESPACO unveils its theme and its guest country, MTN Bushfire confirms its dates, Cape Town reinvents its jazz festival... Panorama of a continent that celebrates life as a person.
Let's start with Ouagadougou. The 30th edition of FESPACO, the largest African film festival, created in 1969, is actively preparing: the theme is unveiled — "African cinema and endogenous development" — and Togo will be the guest country of honour, according to the announcement made after the Burkina Faso Council of Ministers of 24 September 2026. As for the dates, caution is needed: the official website of the festival advances two ranges according to its pages — from March 20 to 27, 2027 in its most recent publications (call for accreditation, confirmed by a government report), compared to February 27 to March 6 on the film registration page. We will therefore present the appointment as expected in March 2027, reconfirmed by the organization — Festival TV closely follows the file.
In Eswatini, the dates are confirmed: the MTN Bushfire, one of the most beloved festivals in Southern Africa, will hold its 20th edition from 28 to 30 May 2027 in the Malkerns Valley, under its motto "Bring Your Fire". In Cape Town, the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, "Africa's Grandest Gathering", announces a metamorphosis: a whole month of cultural celebration in March 2027.
For the rest of the continent, the 2027 dates are not yet announced, but the usual periods already draw the map: the Gnaoua Festival of Essaouira and Mawazine in Rabat at the end of June, the FEMUA of Abidjan — created by Magic System in the Anomabo district — in spring, Sauti za Busara in Zanzibar in February, the Jazz Festival of Saint-Louis in Senegal in spring, Nyege Nyege in Uganda in November, and Timket festival in Ethiopia, on a fixed date traditionally on January 19.
Festival TV grew up on these scenes: trophy received at the Sahel Hip Hop Festival in Niamey in 2014, directed by the Soli Music Festival in Kindia in 2018, Guinean delegation followed at FEMUA... In 2027, our explorers will be on the continent, micro in hand. Africa is celebrating — and the world is invited!
— Moïse 1er, the Festival Explorer