Bradford, UK — 11 August 2026
Bradford has concluded the 2026 edition of the Bradford African Festival of Arts (BAFA), bringing six days of music, film, theatre, fashion, pageantry, visual arts, food, enterprise and community activity to venues across the city.
Held from 3 to 8 August 2026, the third edition of BAFA expanded the festival's reach across Bradford, culminating in a major outdoor celebration at Centenary Square and City Park on Saturday, 8 August.
The festival was organised around the theme “NKOSOO” — Advancement and Progress, reflecting its emphasis on African heritage while positioning contemporary African creativity within wider conversations about innovation, cultural exchange, enterprise, inclusion and community development.
Chuddy K and Diop KDK headline festival finale
The public climax came on Saturday with the main Festival Day at Centenary Square.
Nigerian Afrobeat artist Chuddy K and Namibian artist Diop KDK were among the headline performers, joining a wider programme of music, dance, spoken word, comedy, fashion and cultural performances.
The finale was designed as more than a music concert. Families, artists, businesses and community organisations came together for a programme combining live entertainment with cultural presentation, food, fashion, enterprise and community engagement.
It provided the closing chapter to a festival that had spent the preceding five days exploring different dimensions of African creativity.
Six days, multiple venues and multiple art forms
BAFA 2026 opened on Monday, 3 August, at the University of Bradford, with the opening ceremony, cultural workshop and NKOSOO Art Exhibition.
Tuesday moved into film, with the Yorkshire Film Festival and African film programming, including activity connected with the National Science and Media Museum.
Wednesday focused on theatre and stage performance at Bradford Arts Centre, while Thursday brought African fashion and pageantry into the city centre through the Darley Street programme.
Friday introduced the African Open Market, creating a platform for enterprise, food, products and community interaction.
The programme then reached its conclusion with Saturday's outdoor Festival Day.
The multi-venue structure reinforced one of BAFA's defining characteristics: African culture was presented not as a single artistic genre but as a broad creative ecosystem encompassing performance, cinema, visual art, fashion, food, business and storytelling.
Dr Olushola Adeborode Kolawole leads the festival
At the centre of BAFA's development is Dr Olushola Adeborode Kolawole (OAK), the festival's Founder, Convener and Lead/Festival Director.
Dr Kolawole pioneered BAFA in 2024, when the inaugural edition established the foundation for what has subsequently become an annual cultural platform in Bradford.
Under his leadership, the festival has developed around the celebration, preservation and promotion of African culture through music, dance, art, fashion, food, film and storytelling, while creating opportunities for African and diaspora communities to engage with the wider city.
The expansion from the inaugural edition into the six-day 2026 programme demonstrates the festival's increasing ambition and organisational scale.
A creative team behind the public spectacle
While headline artists and performers attract much of the public attention, BAFA 2026 depended on a broad network of artistic, operational, media and project professionals.
Chris Iheuwa, the Nigerian-born actor and theatre practitioner, served as Theatre and Film Performance Director, helping shape the festival's theatre and film dimensions. His experience in stage and screen performance added a substantial performing-arts component to the programme.
Daniel Okezue returned as Chief Host and Media Coordinator, providing the public-facing energy that connected performers, programme segments and audiences. He was supported by other hosts and presenters, including LadyMay, Bigjohny, MC Yanmife, Adeyinka SuperGirl, MC Crown and Woli 3310.
Kasha Hibbert, serving as Pageant Leader and Fashion & Pageantry Coordinator, played a central role in the fashion and pageantry programme, helping bring African design, beauty, modelling and cultural presentation into Bradford's city-centre programme.
Dr Osemeike Gloria Eyieyien, as Project Manager, contributed to the coordination of the festival's multiple programme strands, teams and stakeholders.
Tope Dada, founder of Tope Dada Production, music artist, producer and event producer, served as Music Director and Performance Director, overseeing elements of the live music and performance infrastructure, including artist coordination, musical arrangements, performer relations and production management.
One of his key creative contributions was “NKOSOO”, the official BAFA 2026 theme song, written, composed and produced for the festival. The song featured the BAFA Children alongside Shola Adebayo and Freke during the opening ceremony.
Other members of the festival's wider creative and delivery structure included Ned Archibong, Executive Producer; Carl Dovi, Creative Programmer; Jumoke Muritala, Arts Director and Curator; Tobi Olorunmakomi, Operations/Project Manager; Isabela Judith, Welfare Director; Jorokee Kamuvete, representing the Namibian community; Abedi Jonathan, Mobilisation; and Oluwadamilola Adetomiwa, Media Head.
The wider structure illustrates the scale of coordination required to deliver a festival operating across several venues and artistic disciplines.
Art, curation and creative programming
The visual-art dimension of BAFA was supported by Jumoke Muritala, whose work spans visual arts, arts and health and cultural programming.
Jumoke Muritala was also part of the BAFA 2026 Art Exhibition Selection Panel alongside Dr Olushola Kolawole and Oyedotun Oyesomi.
Carl Dovi, through his role as Creative Programmer, contributed to the wider artistic structure of the festival. His experience in Bradford's creative sector, including multidisciplinary production and curation through ReachArts Network CIC, added another layer of programming expertise.
Together, the creative leadership helped ensure that BAFA 2026 was not reduced to a music-led event but maintained a genuinely multidisciplinary identity.
Civic, diplomatic and academic figures among BAFA's confirmed guests
The festival also attracted a broad range of civic leaders, diplomats, academics, faith leaders, business representatives and community figures.
The organiser's confirmed guest list included Councillor Chris Herd, Lord Mayor of Bradford, who currently holds the 2026–27 civic office.
Also listed were Professor Gillian Murray, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bradford. Professor Murray took up the Vice-Chancellor role on 13 July 2026, just weeks before BAFA.
Other confirmed guests and delegates included:
H.E. Ambassador Lalisa Berhanu, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Ethiopia, London.
Dr Ruby Bhatti OBE DL, High Sheriff of West Yorkshire for 2026–27.
Councillor Stephen Place, Leader of Bradford Council, a position he assumed in May 2026.
Ms Tina Andima, Investment and Export Promotion Attaché, Namibian High Commission, London.
Mr Steven Ssenabulya, Minister Counsellor, Ugandan High Commission, London.
Abigail Marshall Katung, former Lord Mayor of Leeds.
Dr Manoj Joshi and his wife, listed in the confirmed guest information in connection with civic and ceremonial leadership.
Professor Udy Archibong MBE, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Bradford and Chair of the BAFA Board of Advisory.
Professor Rob James, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Management, Sciences and Engineering at the University of Bradford.
Professor Yvonne Moogan, Director and Head of the School of Management at the University of Bradford.
Councillor Raphael Cohn
Councillor Caroline Firth
Councillor Abdul Jabar, a Bradford councillor for Great Horton.
Councillor Khalid Mahmood, Bradford councillor for Heaton and Frizinghall.
Councillor Joe Wheatley
The Revd Canon Jonathan Triffitt, Interim Dean of Bradford Cathedral. He was appointed to the role in 2026 and formally licensed in March.
Jamie-leigh Hargreaves, Head of Press & PR at Bradford Culture Company.
Shabina Aslam, BAFA Board Member.
Sharon Jandu OBE, Founder of the Yorkshire Asian Business Association and a prominent Yorkshire business and international-trade leader.
Pastor Andrew William Bukenya, pastor and humanitarian.
H.E. Mrs Sabah Zita Benson, High Commissioner of the Republic of Ghana to the United Kingdom and Ireland. She is Ghana's first female High Commissioner to the UK and Ireland.
Mahmood Mohammed, Stronger Communities Manager/Strategic Lead in Bradford. Bradford Council identifies him within its Stronger Communities structure.
Professor Tillal Eldabi, University of Bradford academic and professor.
Professor Richard Nyuur, Head of International Business, Marketing and Strategy and Professor of International Business at the University of Bradford.
Professor Saheed Akba
Graham Swain, Director of Burial & Cemetery Management.
Nigel Guy and his wife, Director of Windrush Generation.
Dr Charles Dacres, associated with Bradford's hate-crime and community-cohesion work. Bradford's current partnership information identifies Charles Dacres as a key figure in the district's community and hate-crime landscape.
The presence of figures from local government, higher education, diplomacy, business, faith communities and civil society underlined the festival's increasingly broad institutional relationships.
International engagement beyond Bradford
BAFA's international ambitions were also evident before the festival itself opened.
On 8 and 9 July, BAFA and the University of Bradford participated in a two-day cultural and diplomatic engagement programme in London involving African diplomatic missions and UK-based cultural and academic stakeholders.
Engagements included representatives connected with the Embassy of Ethiopia, Nigerian High Commission, Namibian High Commission and Ghana High Commission.
The programme explored how culture, creativity, education and innovation can contribute to stronger UK–Africa relationships.
The delegation and wider engagement included members of the BAFA leadership and delivery team, including Dr Olushola Kolawole, Chris Iheuwa, Tope Dada, Daniel Okezue, Immanuel Obani, Gloria Eyieyien, Tobi Olorunmakomi, Carl Dovi, Isabela Judith and Jorokee Kamuvete, alongside University of Bradford representatives including Professor Tillal Eldabi and Dr Samuel Ogbeibu.
The participation of diplomatic representatives such as H.E. Lalisa Berhanu, H.E. Sabah Zita Benson and representatives connected with Namibia and Uganda demonstrates how BAFA's cultural programme is increasingly intersecting with international engagement.
The University of Bradford connection
The University of Bradford has remained an important institutional partner in BAFA's development.
The University's involvement provides a bridge between African cultural expression, higher education, research, community engagement and international collaboration.
That relationship was particularly significant in 2026, when Professor Gillian Murray had only recently taken up the Vice-Chancellor position before the festival. Her current leadership agenda includes innovation and partnerships, providing a natural institutional context for cultural initiatives capable of connecting communities, universities and international partners.
The presence of senior University figures including Professor Udy Archibong MBE, Professor Rob James, Professor Yvonne Moogan, Professor Richard Nyuur and Professor Tillal Eldabi further demonstrated the depth of the academic relationship surrounding the festival.
More than a music festival
The breadth of BAFA 2026 was arguably its strongest feature.
Across six days, audiences encountered:
African visual art
Film and cinema
Theatre
Music
Dance
Fashion
Pageantry
Spoken word
Comedy
Food and culinary culture
African businesses and enterprise
Community activities
Cultural workshops and exhibitions
This approach allowed BAFA to present African culture as contemporary, diverse and constantly evolving.
It also created opportunities for different sections of the community to participate, whether as artists, audiences, entrepreneurs, volunteers, cultural organisations, academics or partners.
From a two-day beginning to a growing cultural platform
BAFA began in 2024 as a two-day event before expanding its programme and reach in subsequent editions.
Festival-reported figures indicate that the inaugural edition attracted more than 1,500 in-person attendees and more than 3,000 online viewers, while the 2025 edition expanded to four days and reportedly reached more than 3,000 in-person attendees and more than 7,000 online viewers.
These figures are reported by the festival and should therefore be understood as organiser-reported figures rather than independently audited attendance statistics.
The development from the inaugural event to a six-day multidisciplinary festival nevertheless represents significant growth in scale, programming and institutional engagement.
What BAFA means for Bradford
BAFA arrives at a significant point in Bradford's cultural development.
Following the city's year as UK City of Culture in 2025, Bradford continues to build on a cultural infrastructure designed to support creativity, participation and community connection.
Within that environment, BAFA provides a distinctive African dimension.
It gives African artists a platform, filmmakers an audience, designers and fashion practitioners visibility, entrepreneurs opportunities to engage with communities, and younger generations an opportunity to encounter African heritage in a contemporary British setting.
It also provides a space where African identity is not presented solely through tradition, but through music, technology, enterprise, fashion, cinema, contemporary art and innovation.
“NKOSOO” and the festival's wider message
The theme “NKOSOO — Advancement and Progress” became more than a title for the 2026 edition.
It reflected the direction of the festival itself.
BAFA is increasingly positioning African culture within a contemporary British context rather than treating African heritage as something fixed in the past.
The festival's combination of traditional cultural expression with contemporary music, film, fashion, enterprise and visual arts reflects the reality of African communities across Britain.
Culture evolves through migration, technology, creativity, entrepreneurship and intergenerational exchange.
BAFA has created a physical platform in which that evolution can be seen and experienced.
A collaborative achievement
The successful conclusion of BAFA 2026 was ultimately the result of a large collaborative effort.
From Dr Olushola Adeborode Kolawole, Chris Iheuwa, Daniel Okezue, Kasha Hibbert, Dr Gloria Eyieyien and Tope Dada to Ned Archibong, Carl Dovi, Jumoke Muritala, Tobi Olorunmakomi, Isabela Judith, Jorokee Kamuvete, Abedi Jonathan, Oluwadamilola Adetomiwa and the wider production, creative, media, volunteer and partner network, the festival depended on people working across different areas of responsibility.
The event also brought together civic leaders, university executives, academics, diplomats, faith leaders, artists, entrepreneurs and community members.
That breadth may prove to be one of BAFA 2026's most important achievements.
For six days, Bradford became a meeting point for African creativity, British multiculturalism, international diplomacy, higher education and community participation.
The 2026 edition has now closed, but the trajectory of the Bradford African Festival of Arts suggests that its story is far from finished.
With its expanding programme, increasingly diverse institutional relationships and growing international outlook, BAFA is establishing itself as an important platform for African arts and culture in Bradford — and an increasingly visible part of the UK's wider cultural landscape.
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