What you need to know about Cebu’s Sinulog 2026

CEBU, Philippines – Cebu’s grandest festival is back again for 2026 and is expected to bring in thousands of participants from around the country to the heart of the province, Cebu City.

This year’s Sinulog festival will carry the theme, “United in Faith and Love” with the traditional tagline “One Beat, One Dance, One Vision.” 

The yearly celebration consists of a series of merrymaking activities like street parades, pageants, and dance competitions. The whole event is done in tandem with the Fiesta Señor celebration, which is in honor of the Child Jesus, during the month of January.

“What awaits is more than a festival. It’s a wave of passion, culture, and community ready to sweep across Cebu once more,” the Sinulog Foundation Incorporated (SFI), the festival’s organizer, wrote in a social media post on December 3, 2025.

Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, one of the SFI’s executive committee members, told Rappler on Friday, January 2, that the entire budget for the celebration is P90 million.

The official opening of the celebration will be held on January 9. On that day, an opening salvo mass will be held at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu at 2:30 pm. The launching parade will take place from the basilica to the Fuente Osmeña Circle and then to the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC), where the launching program will be conducted.

The grand parade and main festival day will happen on January 18 at the CCSC. There will be two ticket options for those interested in watching the event from the venue: Gen Ad Green and Gen Ad Yellow.

For P1,500, attendees can get the Gen Ad Green ticket that offers priority seating closer to the center of the CCSC’s grandstand or spectator seating area. For P1,000, attendees can get the Gen Ad Yellow ticket that still provides them with the main view of the event while seated farther from the center of the grandstand. 

This year, there are 20 contingents competing in the Sinulog Grand Parade and Ritual Dance Showdown event, namely:

Out-of-Town Contingents

1. Kalivungan Festival – Province of Cotabato
2. El Pueblo Cultural Dance Troupe – Zamboanga City High School (Main)
3. Hudyaka Sa Bais: Festival of Harvest – Bais City
4. Tabaco College – Albay
5. Bukluran Dance Troupe – Antipolo City
6. Muntinlupa City Performing Arts Guild
7. Talon-Talon National High School – Hermosa Festival
8. Maria Clara L. Lobregat National High School – Zamboanga Hermosa Festival
9. Kabilin Mindanaw Artist Guild of Malita – Province of Davao Occidental
10. Tagbilaran City Contingent
11. Tribu Sibugaynon – Zamboanga Sibugay
12. Pilar Youth Dance Company (P.Y.D.C.) – Las Piñas City

Cebu Contingents

1. Tribu Hinulawan – Toledo City
2. Carcar City
3. Alcoy Siloy Festival
4. Mandaue City
5. Sinulog Sa Carmen
6. Tribu Septimo – Municipality of Dumanjug
7. Moalboal Dancing Corals
8. Tribu Asturias Dumdumon Ta

The grand parade will also feature guest performers from Danao City, Cebu City, and Bacolod City from Negros Occidental.

There will also be a Sinulog sa Dakbayan (Sinulog in the City), a separate dance competition that features the talents of Cebu City’s barangays and their dance groups. This event will be held at 3 pm on January 10 at the CCSC. 

Check out the official schedule of events below:

– Rappler.com