Nigeria has announced a 100-day national tourism season designed to coordinate cultural and creative events across the country from September to December, as the government seeks to strengthen links between culture, tourism and economic activity.

The Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy announced “Ember to Remember 2026” in Abuja on Aug. 17. Minister Hannatu Musa Musawa said the programme will be formally launched on Sept. 14 at a National Stakeholders Conference at Eko Hotel in Lagos, where a national events calendar is also due to be unveiled.

The initiative is intended to bring festivals, music, food, fashion, heritage, hospitality and other cultural experiences into a more coordinated national framework during the final four months of the year.

Musawa said Nigeria’s tourism offering extends beyond the concentration of concerts, travel and homecoming activities traditionally associated with December. The programme is designed to give existing and planned events greater visibility rather than create a new festival.

A central part of the initiative will be the National Digital Events and Experiences Calendar, which MyCityApp is expected to operate in partnership with the ministry. The platform is intended to aggregate information on events, destinations, hospitality and cultural experiences across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

MyCityApp Chief Executive Ifeoma Mbonu said event organisers are being invited to submit programmes for inclusion in the calendar. The platform is intended to help Nigerians, members of the diaspora and international visitors identify events and experiences taking place during the four-month season.

The full calendar has yet to be released, with organisers still inviting events nationwide to register for inclusion. The number of participating festivals, destinations and creative-industry programmes is therefore not yet known.

The Sept. 14 conference is expected to bring together federal and state tourism authorities, financial institutions, airlines, hospitality businesses, event producers, creative-industry practitioners, technology companies and media organisations, according to the ministry.

Government officials are also presenting the programme as part of efforts to increase the economic value generated by cultural and entertainment activities.

Musawa said the government wants to move beyond staging events as isolated cultural occasions and build wider economic activity around tourism experiences.

The initiative follows a broader federal effort to bring culture, tourism and the creative economy under a common policy framework. The current ministry was formed in October 2024 through the merger of the former Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy with the Ministry of Tourism.

The ministry did not provide forecasts for visitor numbers, employment or business revenue expected from Ember to Remember in its Aug. 17 announcement.

The programme is due to be formally launched in Lagos on Sept. 14, when the national events calendar is expected to be released.