Africa Oyé Festival at Sefton Park
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Africa Oyé Festival
Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.
For more than three decades, Africa Oyé has been one of the defining sounds of a Liverpool summer. Each June, Sefton Park fills with music from across Africa and the diaspora – highlife, reggae, Afrobeats and more – while food stalls, craft traders and arts workshops create a festival with community at its core.
In 2026, that long-running tradition enters a new chapter. After more than three decades of growth, Africa Oyé will return as a ticketed festival for the first time, marking a new phase for an event that has steadily grown into the UK’s biggest celebration of African and Caribbean music and culture. What began in 1992 as a series of small gigs linked to Liverpool’s Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign now draws tens of thousands of visitors each year, transforming the park into a weekend celebration of music, food, crafts and culture from across the continent and its global diaspora.
The first wave of artists announced for the 2026 edition reflects the festival’s expansive outlook. Malian singer and guitarist Fatoumata Diawara returns to Oyé as Sunday night headliner, 15 years after making one of her first UK festival appearances here. Blending traditional Wassoulou music with jazz, funk and folk, Diawara’s powerful voice tackles social themes while celebrating resilience and cultural identity.
Nigerian star Patoranking is also on the bill, making his Liverpool debut. A major figure in the global rise of Afrobeats, the award-winning artist moves freely between reggae, dancehall and contemporary African pop, building a worldwide following through chart-topping releases and collaborations.
Elsewhere, Kinshasa collective Fulu Miziki promise an inventive set based on instruments crafted from discarded materials, while lovers rock pioneer Janet Kay, feminist trio Nana Benz du Togo and Congolese Afrofuturist Kizaba etch their names to a line-up that continues to grow.
Even as the festival enters an ambitious new era, the spirit of Oyé remains unchanged – a vibrant meeting point for African and Caribbean culture at the heart of Liverpool’s summer.
