Everything you need to know about Africa Oye 2019

Are you ready to celebrate the 27th outing of one of the city’s biggest and best cultural gatherings? Africa Oye returns to Sefton Park this weekend (22nd-23rd June 2019) for two days of music, food, drinks, workshops, family fun and good times.

With a full line up of international and homegrown artists taking to the main stage, a jam-packed Oyé Village with arts crafts, music, dance and of course, incredible food, plus DJ’s from around the globe, there’s something for everyone and the best bit is, it’s free to attend.

Here’s everything you need to know about Africa Oye 2019…..

Where & When

Africa Oyé takes place at Sefton Park on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd June 2019. Entertainment begins at 12:30pm and runs until approx 9:30pm on both days.

Set Times

*** CLICK HERE TO VIEW THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL BROCHURE ***

Main Stage

Saturday 22nd June, 2019

Community Act: Staged Kaos
12:30 – 12:50

Oyé Introduces…Satin Beige (UK)
13:10 – 13:35

Gasper Nali (Malawi)
14:00 – 15:10

OSHUN (USA)
15:35 – 16:45

Wesli (Haiti)
17:05 – 18:15

BCUC (South Africa)
18:35 – 19:45

Horace Andy (Jamaica)
20:15 – 21:30

Sunday 23rd June, 2019

Community Act: Batala
12:30 – 12:50

Oyé Introduces…Tabitha Jade (UK)
13:10 – 13:35

Carlou D (Senegal)
14:00 – 15:10

Jah9 & The Dub Treatment (Jamaica)
15:35 – 16:45

Moonlight Benjamin (Haiti)
17:05 – 18:15

Sofiane Saidi & Mazalda (Algeria)
18:35 – 19:45

Garifuna Collective (Belize)
20:15 – 21:30

How To Get There

If you’re driving to the festival site at Sefton Park, use Croxteth Gate and the postcode L17 3AD as a guide, but be warned, there is very limited parking available and we recommend either walking, cycling or using the following public transport options.

Bus

Routes 75, 80 and 80A run from Liverpool ONE Bus Station or from Great Charlotte Street to Ullet Road. Services run every 10 minutes on Saturday, every 20 minutes on Sunday. Also, from Liverpool ONE Bus Station, the 82 has a frequent service to Aigburth Road.

Train

Merseyrail operates frequent services from the city centre to nearest station St Michaels, which is a 10-15 minute walk from the festival site. You can plan your journey using the Merseyrail website or the app here.

What’s On?

There’s so much to see and do at Africa Oye 2019. The main stage and Africa Oye Active Zone will both be buzzing from lunch time with unmissable international acts and local talent on both days. There’s also a chance to join in the fun with dance and music workshops at the Africa Oye Village Active Zone so make sure you bring your dancing shoes.

Main stage Saturday

On Saturday you’ll see Staged Kaos Youth Theatre, Satin Beige, Gasper Nali, Oshun, Wesli, BCUC and Horace Andy.

Main stage Sunday

On Sunday you can see Batala, Tabitha Jade, Carlou D, Moonlight Benjamin, Jah9 and the Dub Treatment, Safiane Saidi and Mazalda and The Garifuna Collective.

Africa Oye Village, Active Zone Saturday

Yoga, Unlock the Box with Mandy Allen, Staged Kaos Youth Theatre, Anfield Samba Kids, Smithdown Drummers, Welsi Live Q&A, Liberation Dance, Afrodance Liverpool and Salsa Movema.

Africa Oye Village, Active Zone Sunday

Juliana Brazil yoga, West African Dance & Performance, Afro-Brazilian Drum performance and workshop, World in a Box Movema, World Fusion Movema, Capoeira, Pandeiro music workshops and Samba with Movema.

Family Fun

Africa Oye is a family friendly festival and every year the team behind the event go all out to ensure there’s something to not only keep the little ones occupied, but also inspire them to try new things too. This year the whole family can enjoy story telling, face painting, drumming workshops, arts, crafts and of course a good boogie! There’s also fun fair rides and LFC Foundation bring their ‘Open Goals’ activities to encourage kids of all ages to get active. A fab family day out.

Food & Drink

There are three licensed bars on the festival site plus a whole host of authentic African, Mediterranean, Asian, English and Caribbean cuisine on offer, oh just imagine the smells across Sefton Park, lush! You can also grab a coffee, a Danish, a French crepe or a fresh fruit smoothie too. Truly something for everyone and a chance to try something brand new.

Africa Oye Active Zone

This year, the celebrations are bigger than ever as the Oyé Active Zone marks its 10th birthday, don’t forget to bring your dancing shoes!

In association with Liverpool’s leading world dance company Movema, the Oyé Active Zone (OAZ) will return to provide the best Afro dance styles for the whole family. People of all ages, abilities and backgrounds will have the chance to try African and world inspired dance, music, and arts activities throughout the weekend led by top local and international companies. The whole cultural programme is focused on promoting health and wellbeing, learning and participation.

Festival Do’s & Dont’s

The best thing about Africa Oye is that everyone is welcome. Sefton Park remains wide open to people of all ages to enjoy the music, food, drink, workshops and stalls on offer across the weekend. To make sure it’s a fun event for everyone, here’s some basic festival do’s and dont’s.

Do bring your dog along to enjoy the festivities, but please keep them on a lead.

Do bring your I.D as Africa Oye Festival operates a Challenge 25 policy at its bars. Do look after your mates and do drink responsibly.

Do bring a small tent or gazebo to pop up and don’t forget to bag up your rubbish and chuck it in the wheelie bins and skips provided.

Do keep an eye on the kids, it gets very busy and it’s easy for little ones to wander off. Ask a steward for a wristband for the kids and clearly write your mobile number on it, in case of emergencies.

Don’t hesitate to contact a steward on the festival site for help with access throughout the weekend.

Accessibility

The official Africa Oyé website states: “Africa Oyé is striving to make the festival more accessible for our disabled fans. Once again we feature an Accessible Viewing Platform, British Sign Language on stage to accompany our festival acts, as well as a dedicated Access Tent.

Our on-stage high-definition video wall assists those with visual impairments and we have also increased the stewarding around our disabled toilets.”

Pre & After Parties

Not content with offering two days worth of amazing international music and entertainment for all the family, for free! Africa Oye announced its official pre and after parties with partner venues both in the city and Smithdown Road.

There are two official pre parties taking place on Friday 21st June from 6pm. The first is at The Merchant, Slater Street where you’ll find the like of Bood n Bone, D Fresh and Richie Vegas and Jonnie O’Hare performing til 2am. The second pre party takes place at Smithdown Rd Social and the line up includes P 45, Joe P, Bugsy Wan, Holmesy and more. Both are free entry.

Afterparties come in the shape of three separate events. The first takes place at 24 Kitchen Street, Baltic Triangle on Saturday 22nd June and sees Zed Bias, Mina & Byrte take to the decks from 10pm til 4am. Tickets are just £5.

The second official afterparty is happening at Kazimier Garden from 8pm on Saturday night. Continuing the summer festival vibes you can catch Ben the Roman, Jay Blakke and more. Free entry.

And last but not least, The Handyman Pub, Smithdown hosts the final Africa Oye after party from 7pm on Saturday where African synthesizer music from the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s will pay homage to artists such as William Onyaebor, Fela, BLO and more. Dharma Collective and Africa Oye DJ’s perform live at this free entry gig too.

Give A Little Love

Africa Oye is one of the few remaining free festivals in the city that provides hours of free entertainment and the chance to make amazing summer memories without charging for tickets. To keep the festival free and open to all, we encourage you to buy a drink, enjoy a bite to eat and maybe pick up a lanyard, some stickers or a tee from the merchandise stalls while you enjoy the weekend. Better yet, you can even make a donation towards Africa Oye 2020 and beyond here.

To find out more about Africa Oye and to check out the full line up, head to www.africaoye.com and follow @africaoye on socials for event updates.