It’s Christmas afternoon in Banjul, and the city feels electric. The air is thick with the promise of something big: today marks the start of the much-anticipated Banjul Cultural Festival, a celebration months in the making, now set to sweep through every street and neighbourhood as the holidays unfold.
The Ministry of Tourism and Arts and Culture has been at the helm since September, sketching ambitious plans and rallying the city’s most creative minds. They didn’t work alone.
From Joluv Arts, known for heart-stopping performances, to the storied hunting societies—Odilleh, Ekun Baba, and Gunshot—all the major cultural groups are ready.
Behind the scenes, the police, Red Cross, and Youth Empowerment Project mapped out logistics, determined to make the celebrations both spectacular and safe.
Today, December 25th, the festival roars to life. At 9:00 a.m., the Parade of Masquerades spills onto the streets.
Feathers, masks, music—each troupe competing to outdo the next. Laughter bounces off the pastel balconies, while vendors hustle spicy grilled meats and coconut sweets to the growing crowds.
Later, at 4:00 p.m., the festival’s official launch transforms Arch 22 into a stage, with dancers spinning, drummers setting the pace, and speeches that blend hope with local proverbs.
Nobody wants the fun to end, and it won’t. On December 26th, Mosque Road turns lively with Gesseh and Samba Soho, a joint of song, dance, and ritual echoing back hundreds of years.
As dusk fades, torches flicker along the streets—the Fanal procession turning Banjul into a ribbon of fire and possibility.
The story continues the next day. December 27th brings a Cultural Symposium back to Arch 22, where elders and musicians, DJs and griots, gather to debate the soul of Gambian identity.
December 28th breaks a sweat: the Banjul Fitness Program takes over Mosque Road, where everyone from schoolkids to grandmothers tries to outpace each other in friendly competition.
Fitzgerald Street steals the spotlight on December 29th with the raucous Pakin & Abonshola Show—color, joy, storytelling, followed by another Fanal that lights up the nighttime crowd.
On December 30th, families flock to the football field for the Regatta Boat Festival and Cultural Show, the river alive with shouts, boats racing, drums echoing over the water.
New Year’s Eve crackles with expectation. Banjul Beach hosts a high-stakes traditional wrestling competition at 4:00 p.m., just as the sun goes down.
As midnight draws close, Arch 22 fills again. The city looks up: fireworks blaze, new year hopes written in light high above the crowd.
But there’s no rest for the festive. January 1st launches with a cascade of music and color—Cultural Hunting and Gesseh Shows weaving down Arch 22, Fitzgerald Street, and Independence Drive, while the Capital Cultural Carnival erupts along Mosque Road.
For sixteen hours, the city won’t stop.
This isn’t just another festival. It’s Banjul at its brightest, oldest traditions and freshest faces mingling in the daylight and deep into the night.
Each event stitches new threads in the city’s tapestry, making The Gambia’s spirit impossible to miss. And it all begins today.
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