AFROVIBES FESTIVAL 2025 - LEGACY

Afrovibes returns in 2025 with the 22nd edition of the Festival from 2 to 12 October. In Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and Haarlem. This year's annual festival will focus on Legacy with a varied programme of dance, theatre, music, spoken word and talk shows by contemporary artists from South Africa, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, Morocco and the African diaspora. Afrovibes brings together big names of African artists, as well as upcoming talent with the potential to become the big names of tomorrow.

LEGACY | HERITAGE

At this festival, African artists show how they experience the current zeitgeist and their cultural heritage. They ask what we can learn from the past about courage, ethics and collective strength. And about the tension between ancient African rituals and modern greed. What will we leave behind for future generations? They give expression to current issues that affect them and us, to the story of Black makers, and offer their singular vision from an African perspective.

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DATES AND THEATRES/CITIES

• Amsterdam 2 & 3 October Bijlmer Parktheater, 4 & 5 October De Balie, 9 to 11 October Frascati;
• Rotterdam 3 & 4 October Maaspodium; 12 October Fenix Museum for Migration;
• Utrecht 4 & 5 October Centraal Museum, 7 & 8 October Theater Kikker, 9 & 10 October Stadsschouwburg Utrecht;
• Haarlem 11 October Stadsschouwburg.

PROGRAM

This year, the festival will open at the Bijlmer Parktheater in Amsterdam Zuidoost with a wide-ranging evening programme featuring dance, theatre, music and singing. For more information about the full programme, visit https://www.afrovibes.nl/ for information and tickets. Afrovibes 2025 is on its way.

HIGHLIGHTS

On Thursday 2 October, the festival opens with the dance performance ZO!Mute by Gregory Maqoma and Vincent Mantsoe, two of South Africa's greatest choreographers. Together with six dancers, they visualise how the spiritual power of the human spirit can overcome the loss of dignity, grief and greed. A performance showcasing the artistic dance power of South Africa.

Black by choreographer and dancer Oulouy (Ivory Coast) is a dance performance in which he embodies the struggle for recognition, equality and respect for black people. Using urban street dance styles from Africa and the African diaspora in the US, Coupé-Décalé, Azonto, Ndomboló, Afrohouse and Krump, he visualises the history of the Black freedom movement.

The theatre performance Katanga January 17 by Bobby Rodwell and Lesego Rampolokeng (South Africa) is about the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of Congo, who is also seen as the Congolese version of Nelson Mandela. Four performers from South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) explore Lumumba's influence on the Democratic Republic of Congo and the liberation movements in Africa. In doing so, they reflect on the current struggle for Africa's resources, decolonisation and African solidarity.

In the theatre performance Bling!, South African actress Buhle Ngaba explores the history of the Cullinan diamond. Unearthed in South Africa, cut in Amsterdam and ending up in the crown of the English royal family. Many South Africans want the diamond back. In her performance, Ngaba uses imagination, satire and humour to explore whether returning cultural heritage such as the Cullinan diamond can heal the scars of the past.