CHINI AFRICA, organizers of Pitcher Festival, Africa’s biggest celebration of creativity in marketing, advertising, digital media, PR, and entertainment, have announced new dates for the 2026 editionof the Pitcher Festival. The event will now run from May 28-30.
According to the organizers, the shift will give judges more time to carefully review all submissions and decide on outstanding works deserving recognition at the Pitcher Awards, widely seen as Africa’s top measure of creative excellence. The full schedule for the event which was formerly scheduled to hold from 14 – 16 May 2026 will be released on Monday, May 18, and registration opens the same day on the Pitcher Festival website.
The three-day event is expected to kick off on May 28 with the announcement of successful entries made it to the shortlist for the Pitcher Awards. This sets the stage for what comes next: insightful conversations through Pitcher Talks, updates on the Young Pitcher Academy and Future Pitcher Academy during the Building the Future sessions, and a special look behind the scenes through Inside the Jury Room, where you get to see how judges think and what impressed them most.
During the festival, the final competitions for both Young Pitcher and Future Pitcher will happen, giving the next wave of African creative talent their moment to shine. Everything wraps up with the Pitcher Awards Show, where top winners and special honorees get announced. The complete list of winners goes live on the Pitcher Festival website afterward.
According to Dr. Nnamdi Ndu, CEO of CHINI AFRICA, the festival promises to showcase the very best of African creativity across all areas; the main awards, the archive, impact projects, the academies, the talks, and the showcase.
