The Eledumare Festival will hold for 21 days beginning March 15 and ending April 7, 2026, with organisers saying the annual event is designed to honour God while promoting Yoruba culture, tourism and commerce across communities in the Southwest.
Chairman of the 2026 festival organising committee, Kolawole Raheem, made this known on Sunday while speaking at a press conference held at Oodua House in Ikeja.
Raheem said the festival, organised by the Olokun Festival Foundation, has been celebrated for 14 consecutive years and remains a unique spiritual and cultural event dedicated solely to the worship of God.
According to him, the 21-day celebration will feature a series of programmes across various communities, beginning with a special prayer session to Almighty God scheduled for March 17 at Oodua House.
Other activities lined up include sporting events such as boxing competitions, football tournaments, beach soccer, taekwondo and table tennis, as well as traditional games like draft, ludo and ayo olopon.
The organisers also announced cultural and humanitarian activities, including a Harvest of Praise, a fashion show, a special outreach programme for widows, and visits to schools for the blind and motherless babies’ homes.
Raheem explained that the festival is not only a spiritual event but also a platform to promote Yoruba heritage, strengthen community ties and stimulate economic activities within host communities.
He noted that the event usually attracts commercial activities worth billions of naira due to the movement of people and businesses across communities during the festival period.
“The festival has contributed to the promotion of peace and development in Yorubaland while also encouraging trade and tourism,” he said.
Raheem further linked the relative peace in the Southwest region to spiritual blessings associated with cultural festivals, including the Eledumare celebration.
Speaking on tourism potential, he urged the Federal Government and the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority to promote local festivals as key tourism attractions capable of generating revenue and diversifying the country’s economy beyond oil.
He noted that festivals such as Rio Carnival, Notting Hill Carnival, Holi, Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Songkran have become global tourism attractions, adding that Nigeria could achieve similar success by developing its cultural festivals.
Raheem also called on corporate organisations to support the festival, noting that the event has been sustained for over a decade without government grants or corporate sponsorship.
The festival initiative is being championed by Gani Adams, the Aare-Onakakanfo of Yorubaland and Chief Convener of the Olokun Festival Foundation.
He said the foundation aims to elevate the Eledumare Festival to become the leading cultural festival in Nigeria within the next six years and eventually secure national recognition, including the possibility of a public holiday.
The organisers expressed optimism that the 2026 edition will further strengthen cultural unity and attract visitors from across Nigeria and the diaspora.