Burkina Faso: 18 cultural events banned by the authorities

The Burkina Faso Ministry of Culture has sent formal notices to the organizers of 18 cultural events scheduled in various locations across the country.

Among the events affected is Golden Moment, a gathering bringing together entertainment industry players. The event was scheduled for August 14 and 15 at the Palais des Sports in Ouagadougou.

In Bobo-Dioulasso, the Urban Vibes festival is also included. Its first edition was held last May. The lineup featured performances by local artists, as well as awareness campaigns on breast cancer and road safety, and reforestation activities.

To justify these bans, the ministry claims that the affected events are against “public morals” or likely to disrupt public order.

These decisions fall under the “cleaning up the artistic and cultural sector” policy implemented by the ministry since March 2025.

The cultural sector had already faced another restriction. Earlier in June, beauty pageants for women were banned, pending new regulations intended to govern these competitions in line with “national cultural values”.

Nearly two months after this announcement, the new regulations are still unavailable.

With these new bans, the Burkinabé authorities are thus reinforcing the regulation of cultural events across the country.