Here you will find information about the extensive supporting program of the 36th International Africa Festival. At the moment we are still planning the programme and this page will be updated regularly. We recommend that you subscribe to our newsletter. Here you will always receive the latest information about the festival.
Photo exhibition: BOB MARLEY – THE KING OF REGGAE
EXHIBITION WITH PHOTOS BY ADRIAN BOOT
© Photo: Nathalie Delon / Urbanimage
Bob Marley with Junior Marvin, Jacob Miller and Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, on their trip to Brazil in 1980.
Jamaican reggae icon Bob Marley would have celebrated his eightieth birthday this year. Born on 6 February 1945 in Nine Miles, Saint Ann Parish, he is undisputedly the most important artist and ‘founder’ of reggae music. All his albums and songs, such as ‘Get Up Stand Up’, ‘No Woman, No Cry’ and ‘Could You Beloved’, are classics of the scene. He has become a source of inspiration for many people and artists. His music has sold more than 75 million records to date. This makes him one of the musicians with the most records sold worldwide. His death from cancer on 11 May 1981 at the age of just 36 left more than just Jamaica in mourning. To honour his memory, we are showing a photo exhibition by renowned photographer Adrian Boot.
Adrian Boot, born in 1947, is regarded as one of the best and most renowned photographers in Great Britain, particularly in the music scene.
He came to professional photography by chance. In the early 1970s, he spent three years in Jamaica at the University of West Indies in Kingston and at Titchfield High School in Port Antonio as a lecturer specialising in physics. Back then, still an amateur photographer, he had the opportunity to photograph the still unknown local reggae scene up close. This led to a friendship with Bob Marley, of whom he took – now world-famous – pictures.
Chris Blackwell, friend, music producer and founder of Island Records, had the courage to invite the young Bob Marley and his band to London for his first recordings.This is how his ten legendary albums from ‘Catch A Fire’ (1973) to ‘Uprising’ (1980) were created. As Adrian had already been there, his photos were the first to be used for promotion and albums. This brought him to the attention of various music magazines and newspapers such as ‘Melody Maker’, ‘The Times’, ‘The Guardian’ and ‘The Face’, as well as many music stars such as the Sex Pistols and Sting, who appreciated his photographic eye. Further work has taken him to West Africa and India.
To mark the charismatic artist’s 50th birthday, Adrian Boot published the book ‘Bob Marley – Songs of Freedom’ in 1975. In it, the story of Marley’s life is accompanied by more than four hundred photos, illustrations and graphics as well as facsimiles of his musical lyrics.
The exhibition will take place from 16 May to 31 July 2025 at the University of Würzburg, Sanderring 2, 97070 Würzburg. Open: Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., admission is free.
STAGE FOR TRADITIONAL MUSIC
BRIDGE Der deutschen Einheit, DO-SO
This year, visitors can once again experience traditional music from West Africa (Guinea, Gambia, Senegal and Ghana) every day under the Bridge of German Unity.It will be played on various instruments such as the djembé, doun-doun and balafon.
HAVANA CLUB & DJ CULTURE
Thursday – Saturday, 8:00 PM & Sunday, 7:00 PM
By popular demand, we have reopened the Havana Club. This time it will take place in the new multi-tent, which is equipped with a large dance floor and the appropriate lighting. The Havana Club is all about Cuban rum, Caribbean music and joie de vivre. All friends of reggae, Latino and Afro DJ music are cordially invited to dance again. At the Havana Club Bar you can once again sample various Cuban rum cocktails accompanied by hot music.
DJ Freegah will be spinning reggae and modern Afrobeats on Thursday and Saturday evenings, while on Friday evening he invites you to a Noche Latina. On Sunday evening, our DJ Hi John from Kingston, Jamaica will once again provide a hot atmosphere at his reggae party under the motto ‘Celebrating Bob Marley’.
All DJs will also be playing songs by Bob Marley on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
FASHION MADE IN AFRICA
Multi tent, THURSDAY: 4:00 PM AND FRIDAY – SUNDAY 12:45 AND 6:30 PM
The African fashion designer Rama Diaw from Saint Louis (Senegal) will once again be present at the Africa Festival with several fashion shows. To support her association ‘Aissaitou’, which brings together disadvantaged tailors, seamstresses and fabric dyers in the countryside and provides work, Afro Project is once again providing a free tent and organising the fashion shows. Madame Rama will once again present beautiful collections with various African fabrics.
The fashion shows will take place on Thursday at 16:00 and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 12:45 and 18:30 in the new multi tent.
CHILDREN´S PROGRAMME
KARI-BUNI WATOTO – Welcome children!
Daily 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM
“Kari-buni Watoto – Welcome children!” is the name of the dedicated children’s area, where – thanks to the cooperation with s.Oliver – there will be a wide range of activities for children of all ages, including the City of Würzburg’s play package, a large bouncy castle, face painting and colouring. Away from the hustle and bustle of the festival, parents and grandparents can watch their children play while enjoying a cool drink or coffee. The children’s area is available to visitors of all ages free of charge.
Ibu story teller
Multi Tent, Daily 1:15 PM & additional sunday 3:00 PM
The children’s programme is an integral part of the Africa Festival. The author and musician Ibrahima Ndiaye from Senegal has a unique ability to inspire his young audience with a mixture of traditional storytelling, pantomime, percussion, dance and song. This time he tells stories from Africa of today and yesterday for tomorrow. Included are tales and black wisdom from his grandmother for young and old. You can listen to Ibu daily in the new multi tent at 1:15 PM and additional on Sunday at 3:00 PM.
ADESA – CHILDREN’S MUSICAL ‘RICE AND BEANS’
Multi Tent, Thursday – SATurday 3:00 PM
Alfred is a poor musician who struggles to earn a living playing street music in the shopping centre of a German city. On a sunny, warm summer’s day, Alfred meets the funny Kofi from Ghana, who is visiting Germany for the first time. The two become best friends and musically tell bizarre stories from Africa and Europe with a lot of humour. As a result, they learn to understand each other and their cultures better.
BAZAAR AND CULINArY DELIGHTS
Daily 11:00 am – 11:00 pm
The bazaar again has a lot to offer: among other things, African musical instruments and CDs with traditional and modern African music. In addition, extraordinary clothes and fabrics, jewellery as well as sculptures, traditional masks, objects of art and everyday objects will provide enthusiasm. To indulge in culinary delights, the food area has African and oriental delicacies in store for you from Thursday to Sunday (11:00 – 11:00). This year you can enjoy dishes from Ethiopia, Morocco, Rwanda, Cameroon and Germany, among others.
the university tent at the Africa Festival
University Tent, daily 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
The University of Würzburg once again invites you to visit the ‘Unizelt’. Here you will be informed about various research projects with and in Africa. Presentations are planned on combating the dangerous worm disease schistosomiasis in Würzburg’s twin city Mwanza on Lake Victoria in Tanzania, on climate-friendly agriculture in East Africa, on the consequences of climate change in tropical Africa and on cooperation with museums in Egypt and Tunisia. German colonial history will be highlighted in particular. You can expect individual short tours and cosy tea talks to get into conversation with the researchers themselves about an often misunderstood and underestimated continent.
SOcIAL AND INNOVATIVE PROJECTS
Place of social and innovative projects, daily 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
On the place of initiatives we will again present selected and meaningful projects around Africa as well as print media. The projects presented by the initiatives this year take place in Malawi, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Guinea, Ghana, Tanzania and many more. The information stands are open daily from 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM.
ARTE Cinema tent
ARTE movie programme @ Africa Festival 2025
The cultural broadcaster ARTE is once again a partner of the 36th Africa Festival. We are delighted to be showing special ARTE films on African culture and music in the ARTE cinema tent on the festival grounds again this year. An entire evening will be dedicated to the current view of colonial history, with two current documentaries and a discussion on the topic broadcast live into the ARTE cinema tent in the ARTE:SALOON. In addition, the ARTE film programme on the 80th birthday of reggae legend Bob Marley is dedicated to the origins of this music genre.
thursday, 29th MAy
8:15 PM Dreams made of fabric – women fashion designers from Sierra Leone
Dokumentary, ARTE/ZDF 2023, 43 Min.
9:15 PM Senegal´s solar heroines
Dokumentary, ARTE France 2023, 53 Min.
FRiday, 30th MAy
Theme evening: Africa and Europe – then and now
6:15 PM Africa‘s forgotten history – film premiere: Freedom fighter or human trafficker – who was Jan Conny?
Dokumentary, ARTE/ZDF 2025, 28 Min.
7:00 PM ARTE:SALOON Africa Special | Live from Frankfurt, 90 Min
8:45 PM The pearl throne – Cameroon‘s cultural heritage in German museums
Dokumentary, ZDF 2024, 53 Min.
Saturday, 31st may
8:15 PM Visions for peace in Africa: Chad – Maps for peace and Nigeria – Sowing peace at least
ARTE Report, ARTE 2019/2024, 2×24 Min.
9:15 PM Rasta Gracie and Jamaica`s healers
Dokumentary, ARTE/SWR 2023, 52 Min.
Sunday, 1st june
8:00 PM Ethiopia – Promised Land of the Rastafari
ARTE Report, ARTE 2019, 24 Min.
8:30 PM Bob Marley: One Love
Film, Paramount 2024, 107 Min.
