For the 13th year in a row, this year the Africa Days (Afrika Tage) take place from 18th August until 13th September in Vienna. 18 days non-stop this extraordinary African celebration with a lot of esprit, music, dance, international artists and a colourful bazar will light up Vienna’s Donauinsel (island in the river Donau). The festival offers a wide variety of concerts, speeches, readings and information desks and charity events. Of course, there is a special program for children, too.
Africa Days in Vienna 2017
History of the Africa Days
The Africa Days’ initiator and organiser is Medhat Abdelati who started the festival in 2004. According to him, he had the wish for a long time to bring some of his heritage to his new home country. The first festival took place in Munich according to the motto “Out of Afrika – mitten in München” (Out of Africa – into Munich’s inner-city). In Vienna the festival started in 2005. The Africa Days are organised without any public funds or sponsoring. The officials want to stay independent. With the help of numerous Africa lovers and partnerships the festival is able to organise itself each year with great success. The festival is designed to help building bridges between cultures and strengthen their mutual understanding.
Program
Overall there will be 36 music shows, two every night. The artists offer everthing from reggae, jazz and soul to hiphop. Besides African bands, international top acts will perform on the stage. Here you find the detailed program.
Enchanting African dance performances, like for example the straw dance or other folklore shows, can be watched daily. Additionally you are able to attend different workshops. You could learn a folk dance or attend a dynamic drumming session. More information about activities here.
The Sahara Tent is the place to go to when you are looking for a snack or want to explore authentic African handicrafts. The huge bazar really leaves nothing to be desired. This is the perfect place to get to know the African cuisine. You can enjoy a tasty meal in a chilled atmosphere while listening to relaxed rhythms and watch dance performances. The tent has space for up to 1000 people and makes a visit when it’s raining still worth it. Besides the culinary delicacies the bazar offers a lot of different arts and crafts, textiles, music instruments and much much more. At the end of the day the beer garden invites you to sit and relax with a glass of African wine or a cocktail.
Austria for Africa
Many African countries struggle with extreme difficulties which is why the organisers decided to work together with many charity organisations to help those very poor countries even more in the future. They created the “Charity Days” to emphasis the importance of cultural understanding. The entry on those four days is free, you are kindly asked for a donation instead. Speeches and reading help you to gather information about the relevant issues. More information here.
Tickets
Tickets are available at Wien-Ticket or Oeticket and directly at the festival ground. The Day Ticket, available before 6pm is cheaper and still entitles you to stay for the concerts at night. Season Tickets are also available.