Detty December 2026: the events, by city
Every year the same few weeks fill up across Africa: homecomings, concerts, carnivals, weddings, beach days and New Year. For anyone who sells their time, it is the busiest month of the year, and most of it is booked in November.
This is the 2026 calendar, city by city, with what each event is and the work it brings.
- Ghana's official season, December in GH, runs 1 December 2026 to 3 January 2027.
- Lagos has Detty December Fest from 18 to 30 December, and Flytime's shows from 20 to 25 December.
- Carnival Calabar peaks from 26 to 30 December.
- Cape Town has the rugby sevens on 5 and 6 December. Dakar's Biennale runs to 19 December.
- Some big names are not on this year's list. Check before you plan around them.
How to read the dates: we checked each one in October 2026. "Confirmed" means the organiser or a government body published it. "Expected" means it has not been announced, so we give last year's date or the usual slot. Check the organiser before you sell a package around it.
Accra and Ghana
Ghana's tourism body calls the season December in GH, not Detty December. It is part of the Beyond the Return programme, and the 2026 season runs 1 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 (confirmed). Ghana recorded about 141,000 international arrivals in December 2025, up about 11% on the year before.
| Dates | Event | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Dec to 3 Jan | December in GH, events across the country | Confirmed |
| Around 24 Dec | Bhim Concert, Stonebwoy (24 Dec in 2025) | Expected |
| Around 25 Dec | Rapperholic, Sarkodie, usually Christmas Day | Expected |
| About 27 Dec to early Jan | AfroFuture, the festival that was Afrochella | Expected: sold in tour packages, no festival dates yet |
| All month | Beach days and raves on the coast; trips to Cape Coast and Elmina | Every year |
Not this year: Afro Nation Ghana has no 2026 edition announced; the 2026 Afro Nation was in Portugal in July. Chale Wote, the street art festival, is in August.
The work: family and reunion shoots, heritage day trips, airport and night drivers, private dinners, group glam before concerts, and house-party DJs.
Lagos
Lagos has the busiest run of big shows on the continent this December.
| Dates | Event | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 4 Dec | The Experience, all-night gospel concert, Tafawa Balewa Square (usually the first Friday) | Expected |
| 13 Dec | Amala and Palm Wine Festival, The Stables, Surulere | Announced |
| 18 to 30 Dec | Detty December Fest, two stages, Wizkid opens on the 18th | Confirmed |
| 20 Dec | Flytime House of R&B, Brandy, Eko Convention Centre | Announced |
| 21 Dec | Rhythm Unplugged, Eko Convention Centre | Announced |
| 22 to 24 Dec | Flytime Fest, Eko Convention Centre | Announced |
| 25 Dec | Flytime Circle, Eko Convention Centre | Announced |
| All month | Beach parties at Ilashe and Lekki, weddings | Every year |
Detty December Fest drew more than 40,000 people at its first edition in 2025.
The work: concert glam and outfit styling, festival and brand coverage, after-party DJs, night drivers, boat trips to the beach, and party catering.
Calabar
Carnival Calabar is Nigeria's biggest street carnival. The Cross River State calendar for 2026 (confirmed):
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 26 Dec | Cultural Carnival and Night of Kings and Queens |
| 27 Dec | Junior Carnival |
| 28 Dec | Parade of the Bands |
| 29 Dec | Bikers Carnival |
| 30 Dec | Street Party and Colour Runs |
Dry runs in the weeks before (22 November, 6 and 13 December) are good days to meet the bands.
The work: carnival makeup and body paint, costume fitting, band portraits, street-party DJs and transport from Lagos and Abuja.
Cape Town
Summer, long days and a steady flow of visitors from early December to mid-January.
| Dates | Event | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 5 to 6 Dec | HSBC SVNS Cape Town, rugby sevens, known for costumes | Confirmed |
| 31 Dec | New Year's Eve at the V&A Waterfront and across the city | Every year |
| Early Jan | Tweede Nuwe Jaar, the minstrel carnival (5 Jan in 2026; traditionally 2 Jan) | Expected |
Not this year: Rocking the Daisies was cancelled for 2026 and is an October festival anyway. We found no Afropunk Joburg edition since 2019.
The work: peninsula and winelands tours, private chefs for villas, couple and proposal shoots, costume makeup for the sevens, and airport transfers.
Dakar
Dak'Art, the Biennale of Contemporary African Art, runs 19 November to 19 December 2026 (confirmed). It usually runs in May and June, so this is a rare December art season in Dakar, with openings across the city.
The work: art route guides, translators, drivers, opening photography and artist portraits.
Nairobi and the Kenya coast
| Dates | Event | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Dec | Jamhuri Day, public holiday, start of the coast season | Fixed |
| 20 Dec | Blankets & Wine, December edition, Nairobi | Confirmed |
| Late Dec to New Year | Diani, Kilifi and Watamu: beach festivals and New Year parties | Every year |
The Lamu Cultural Festival usually runs in late November (20 to 22 November in 2025). Check the county's dates for 2026.
The work: Nairobi to coast transfers, villa chefs, beach club DJs and festival shoots.
Abidjan
A full concert calendar through December (announced on ticketing sites):
- 4 and 6 Dec: Seun Kuti.
- 5 Dec: Serge Beynaud, Parc des Expositions.
- 24 and 25 Dec: Fally Ipupa, Stade Félix-Houphouët-Boigny.
- 26 Dec: Himra, Stade Olympique d'Ebimpé.
Femua, the city's big festival, is in late April and early May, not December.
The work: glam before stadium shows, concert shoots, night drivers and after-parties.
More places
- Marrakech and the Sahara, Morocco: New Year desert camps from Merzouga, and busy riads all winter. Drivers, guides and camp cooks are in demand. The Marrakech film festival ends on 28 November.
- Douz, Tunisia: the Festival International du Sahara, 19 to 22 December (one report; check).
- Zanzibar, Tanzania: beach weeks and New Year. Sauti za Busara has moved to 19 to 21 March 2027.
- Cairo, Luxor and Aswan, Egypt: peak travel from about 23 December to Coptic Christmas on 7 January.
- Kigali, Rwanda: last year the city ran ten nights of public events from 24 December to 1 January. Expect something similar.
Get ready in November
Most of this work is booked before December starts, by people who are not in your city yet. What wins the booking is simple:
- Prices they can see, with your December rates written down. Our guide on how to make a rate card for any service walks through it.
- A deposit rule, stated once. See how to ask for a deposit before you start.
- One link in your bio with all of it. Our guide on what to put in your link in bio when you sell your time covers the page.
In Piku, each service is a Rate on your Rate Card. A visitor taps Request, you quote, and they pay a deposit from the link by card or mobile money, with no account. A receipt sends itself.
Questions
When is Detty December 2026?
There is no single date. Ghana's official December in GH season runs 1 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, and most big shows in Accra and Lagos fall between 18 December and New Year.
Is Afro Nation in Ghana in December 2026?
No 2026 Ghana edition had been announced when we checked in October 2026. The 2026 Afro Nation was in Portugal in July.
When is the Calabar Carnival 2026?
The peak is 26 to 30 December 2026, with the Parade of the Bands on 28 December, according to the Cross River State calendar.
When should creators and freelancers take December bookings?
From early November. Visitors book flights and plans weeks ahead, so your prices, deposit rule and booking link should be ready before December starts.