6 African Festivals Around the World

3. Fes Festival Of World Sacred Music – Morocco

As its name suggests, the Fes Festival is not your typical music festival. Unlike Glastonbury, Coachella and the like, the Fes Festival focuses on world music – different sounds from cultures not just in Africa but around the world.

Forget mud and tents and “festival fashion”, at Fes you can take your time and really appreciate the music you hear in stunning surroundings.

Plus, the light displays are said to be phenomenal, and many festival goers say that it’s a very well-executed production as well – no hiccups or messing around!

2. Africa Festival – Germany

The biggest festival for African culture in all of Europe, the Africa Festival has many copycats but remains undefeated in popularity, with almost two and a half million people attending since its conception in 1989.

The Africa Festival features music from international performers, artworks, children’s activities and an art house cinema tent so you can see many interesting films that might not be released elsewhere.

Plus, there are places to camp for the festivities, but local hotels also offer deals during the days the festival is on so you can’t post up in a discount room if tents aren’t your thing.

1. Harare International Festival of the Arts – Zimbabwe

The Harare International Festival of the Arts, more commonly known as HIFA, is an annual festival held over 6 days. It combines music, dance, drama, circus, fashion and spoken word to create one of the biggest festivals on the continent.

It is also known as one of the most diverse festivals in Africa and brings together lots of different people from different socioeconomic backgrounds to celebrate, which is especially important in times of uncertainty and conflict – such as the ones Zimbabwe is currently living through.

Top 6 African Festivals

Well that’s our list; we’re sure it’s not totally comprehensive but we hope there are maybe one or two on there that you haven’t heard of before! Also, let us know whether you’ve been to any of these festivals in the comments, we’d love to hear about them from some personal experiences.