ObaFest turns Gulu into a two-day entertainment hub

What the report says

ObaFest 2026 turned Gulu into a two-day festival venue, according to Sqoop Uganda, with music, dance, gaming, art and food drawing thousands of revellers to the northern city. The regional activation was presented as a way to extend the festival experience beyond Kampala and give audiences in northern Uganda access to a major entertainment programme locally.

The event’s billed headliner changed after Congolese musician Koffi Olomide pulled out following the announcement of an Ebola outbreak. Sqoop Uganda reported that Nigerian performer Deobi took the main spotlight on opening night, alongside MC Uganda, while the second day featured Ugandan acts Eezzy, Freeboy and Pato Lover Boy. DJs TING and Crystal handled the music, with MC Lucky guiding the crowd through the programme.

Beyond the stage performances, organisers added interactive elements including gaming, art installations, dance battles and food offerings. That broader format gave the event a more mixed cultural feel than a standard concert and helped position it as a social gathering as well as an entertainment show.

The Gulu activation is part of the build-up to the main ObaFest festival planned for November. More generally, regional activations like this are often used by promoters to expand audiences outside the capital and build momentum ahead of a larger headline event.