KCCA Extends Kampala City Festival to 12 October after Press Conference at Uganda Media Centre
Kampala, Uganda . In a surprise move during a press conference held October 2nd at the Uganda Media Centre, officials from the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) announced that the Kampala City Festival 2025 will be extended — moving from the previously announced date of 5 October to now run through 12 October 2025 at Kololo Independence Grounds, Kampala.
The extension marks a major shift in the festival plan, opening up new opportunities for programming, participation, and greater inclusivity. Below is a full breakdown of what was announced, reactions, and what to expect going forward.
Press Conference Highlights & Key Announcements
- Rationale for extension
Officials said the extension was intended to deepen engagement across the city, allowing more time for community events, exhibitions, cultural showcases, and outreach to underserved areas. The extra days are seen as a buffer for logistical adjustments and to accommodate additional partners, artists, and sponsors.
While full remarks were not publicly shared at time of writing, sources suggest that KCCA management sensed pressure—from sponsors, artists, and civic stakeholders—to expand the festival’s scale and duration.
- New festival window
The festival will now span 2 days, concluding on 12 October 2025.
All events originally planned for 5 October are to be integrated into the extended program, with additional days for backup, fringe events, and overflow.
Venue remains Kololo Independence Grounds, the central anchor site for major performances, exhibitions, and flagship gatherings.
- Programming and thematic alignment
KCCA reaffirmed the 2025 theme: “Celebrating Kampala: Culture, Innovation, and Sustainability.”
They pledged to maintain existing core elements—street parades, musical performances, exhibitions, innovation showcases, health camps, environmental clean-ups, and children’s zones—while layering in extra events over the extended dates.
Officials also indicated a stronger focus on sustainability and community inclusion during the extension period:
Extended days will host more workshops, citizen forums, and satellite performances beyond Kololo.
The additional days allow for better scheduling of health outreach, environmental drives, and smaller cultural events across Kampala’s five divisions.
KCCA spoke of enabling “late‑entry” artists, smaller promoters, and community groups to participate without being squeezed by a single-day deadline.
- Logistics, funding & partnerships
To support the extension, KCCA said it will intensify fundraising efforts and deepen partnership with private sector sponsors, NGOs, cultural institutions, and district-level governments.
Security, transport, sanitation, and crowd management will be scaled up proportionally to new days. KCCA pointed to prior collaborations with the Uganda Police and security agencies as a baseline arrangement.
Officials assured media that ticketing (if any), vendor allocations, and artist scheduling will be adjusted accordingly, and more details will be published in the coming days.
Context: Festival Return & Pre‑Events
The Kampala City Festival is making a comeback in 2025 after being on hiatus for several years.
It was officially relaunched earlier this year under the leadership of KCCA Executive Director Sharifah Buzeki, with support from local and national stakeholders.
In the weeks ahead of the festival, KCCA has already rolled out a number of pre‑festival activities, including:
Free medical camps across the divisions
Outreach to babies’ homes (donations of essential supplies)
“No Litter Day” drives, environmental sensitization, and a planned Car-Free Day
Partnerships with Pearl Bank (UGX 25 million) and several sponsors
These moves reflect KCCA’s intention to make the festival not just a showpiece, but a platform for social good, civic participation, and urban revitalization.
Implications & Reactions
For artists and performers
The extension gives artists and cultural groups more space to participate, especially those who missed slot allocations. They now have extra days to schedule performances, workshops, and satellite events.
For vendors & exhibitors
Businesses and exhibitors will have more exposure days, potentially higher footfall, and a longer window to recoup participation costs. However, extending days also raises cost and logistical burden for stalls, staffing, utilities, and security.
For city services & logistics
Longer duration means extended demands on sanitation, waste management, security, traffic, and crowd control. KCCA will need to coordinate intensively with city divisions and security agencies to avoid service breakdowns.
For residents & attendees
The extension offers residents greater flexibility in attendance, more diverse options, and better chance to engage with festival elements. But some may worry about increased disruption (traffic, noise) over a longer period.
Public sentiment & criticism
While many may celebrate the move, some may question the capacity, cost, and execution. Skeptics may ask: will the extension produce diluted quality? Will oversight and planning be robust? These are issues the organizers will have to address transparently.
What to Watch
Detailed program release: KCCA should publish a full schedule with dates, times, venues, and artist lineups soon.
Ticketing / access info: Whether access is free or ticketed, and whether passes will cover all days.
Vendor & sponsorship terms: How vendor fees, space allocations, and sponsor benefits adjust to extended days.
Logistics management: How KCCA handles sanitation, security, traffic, medical services, and emergency response over 2 days.
Community events outside Kololo: Expect more “pop-up” cultural and neighborhood events in other parts of Kampala.
Post-festival evaluation: Reporting on attendance, revenue, challenges, lessons for future editions.
