‘BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL’: Massive props, elaborate sets mark Dinagyang tribes competition

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The giants are set to return to the streets of Iloilo City for the 2026 Dinagyang Festival.

The Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc. (IFFI) said it will allow significantly bigger and more elaborate props for the tribes competition after easing size restrictions and granting tribes greater creative freedom in designing their performance sets.

IFFI Festival Director Eric Divinagracia said tribes will be allowed to expand and modify their props once they reach the performance area, while basic size limits will remain in place during transport and staging.

Tribes may enlarge their props during actual performances by connecting or adding extensions to the main structures at the judging areas, provided the props are returned to the prescribed size for transit after the show.

“We have some limitations in terms of height, width and size, but this is how it goes: Every prop and set should be 10 by 10 feet in width, and the height is 12 feet so that it can pass through the streets, enter West Visayas State University and reach the Iloilo Sports Complex,” Divinagracia said Tuesday, Jan. 13.

Divinagracia said the size limits are mainly imposed for safety and mobility to ensure props can be transported efficiently and tribes can move swiftly to the next performance area.

“It’s in their own strategy how they will do it, how they can expand it, how they can put it all together,” he added.

He said IFFI will begin monitoring tribes’ prop and set designs next week, with inspections scheduled twice a week.

Despite the expanded creative freedom, Divinagracia said restrictions on the number of performers and drummers will remain in place.

“Warriors” will be limited to 120 to 150 dancers per tribe, with corresponding deductions imposed for exceeding the cap, while performance time will remain at 10 to 11 minutes per tribe.

Prop handlers will be unlimited in number but must be clearly identified and registered strictly as propsmen.

Divinagracia said one of the main challenges observed during the opening salvos held Jan. 10–11 was the time and motion involved in moving competing tribes between the three judging areas.

He said IFFI will also improve the readiness of performance stages to ensure they can withstand various weather conditions.

“We are meeting with the choreographers and the tribes this week to thresh out their concerns, including route improvements and staging issues,” he said.

This year’s tribes competition will adopt a linear performance flow, meaning participating tribes will perform in a fixed chronological sequence as they move from one judging area to another.

The system replaces the previous carousel-style format, in which tribes rotated simultaneously among judging areas.

Performances at the Freedom Grandstand will begin at 8 a.m., followed by 9 a.m. shows at the corner of Luna and Huervana streets in La Paz and 10 a.m. performances at the Iloilo Sports Complex.

Performances at the Iloilo Sports Complex are expected to conclude by 1 p.m.

Divinagracia said prize packages for the tribes are still being finalized but are expected to remain the same as last year.

He also announced an increase in the subsidy per tribe to PHP 2.3 million, up from PHP 1.7 million last year.

With less than two weeks before the festival’s major highlights, Divinagracia said IFFI is now 75 percent ready.

“We are on schedule, and we have at least 10 days to adjust and pivot,” he said.