Sierra Leone Hosts Reggae Festival Bridging Africa, Caribbean

Why this is here: The 2025 festival channeled a share of its proceeds into a Creative Village, directly supporting local musicians and technical crews within Sierra Leone’s creative economy.

The Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs in Sierra Leone is organizing the One Nation Reggae Festival (ONRF) in Freetown, from November 25 to 30, 2026. The festival aims to strengthen cultural connections between Africa and the Caribbean through music and heritage. The 2025 edition featured international reggae artists like Sizzla Kalonji alongside local talent, and included tours of sites linked to the Atlantic slave trade, such as Bunce Island.

A portion of the 2025 festival’s proceeds supported a Creative Village for local musicians and provided relief for hurricane victims in Jamaica. Organizers are expanding the festival to six days in 2026, adding workshops, fashion showcases, and beach activities.

The festival is being tested as a model for integrating culture into tourism, creative industries, and heritage preservation. While the first edition established a structure for linking performance, place, and participation, the 2026 event will focus on scaling that model and attracting greater international collaboration. The work of building a sustainable, culturally-rooted tourism system continues.