Fewer venues, bigger seats, new schedules in Dinagyang Festival 2026

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The Dinagyang Festival 2026 will see major changes, with performance and judging areas reduced to just two locations and the order of activities overhauled, the Iloilo Festival Foundation, Inc. (IFFI) announced.

In a press conference on Tuesday, November 18, IFFI President Angel De Leon Jr. said the festival activities will now be held at only two venues: the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand in Muelle Loney Street in Iloilo City Proper and the Iloilo Sports Complex in La Paz.

De Leon said the decision was driven by space concerns raised by revelers and the need to ease traffic congestion in the City Proper weeks before the festival.

“If we look into that, we will not bother anymore the different city areas with traffic because if we do it in the previous years we are putting up stages two weeks before the event and rerouting has to happen.,” he explained.

He added that limiting the festival to two stages will also reduce traffic significantly, as both venues are away from areas with heavy foot and vehicle traffic.

The previous performance areas of the Dinagyang Festival have included several key venues throughout Iloilo City.

Traditionally, the main venue for the Tribes Competition was the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand, where competing tribes performed before large crowds.

Besides the grandstand, other performance stages were spread around the city, including locations like the Iloilo Provincial Capitol, Delgado corner Mabini streets, Quezon corner Ledesma streets, and Iznart Street, allowing performances to entertain various groups of spectators across the city.

“When we planned this it was in response to several issues also that were being raised up to us in the previous events. We are trying to upgrade and trying to as much as possible address the different concerns and make this a more meaningful time of the festival and honoring our Santo Niño (Holy Child Jesus),” De Leon added.

With the new setup, the Tribes Competition will now start in the afternoon, around 1 or 2 p.m., he added.

IFFI Festival Director Eric Divinagracia said the direction of the Dinagyang Festival this year is threefold: innovation, inclusion, and Ilonggo.

He explained that the venue changes will allow more local and international tourists to watch performances at more affordable rates. In past festivals, tickets often sold out quickly, leaving many spectators unable to attend, he said.

With the new plan, he said that there will be an increase of 3,000 seats, especially since the sports complex has a seating capacity of approximately 7,000 and several sports facilities, such as an oval running track and a football field.

“We have also studied the performances at the sports complex before, and we hope that this year, we could really make an improvement in terms of how it’s performed there,” he said.

It can be noted that the Sports Complex has hosted the 2012 Dinagyang Festival, alongside the Freedom Grandstand and Capitol grounds.

Divinagracia also explained that there will still be three street dance performances from the tribe groups along the JM Basa St., Iznart St., and the Capitol.

He also noted that the decision to move the Tribes Competition to the afternoon followed requests from the tribes, as dancers previously began preparations early in the morning, often resulting in fatigue and fainting incidents.

Meanwhile, the Sadsad sa Calle Real performed by barangay tribes will be returned to its original morning schedule, with performances starting a the former Freedom Grandstand or Sunburst Park.