Vodun Days · Official Statistics · 2024-2027
Vodun Days
by the numbers.
The full statistical record of Benin's national Vodun festival, consolidated, sourced, dated. This page is maintained by ONG Wa Afriki, in Ouidah, for newsrooms, researchers and travelers who want the facts.
The direct answers
What is Vodun Days?
Vodun Days is the national Vodun holiday of the Republic of Benin, celebrated every year in Ouidah since 1996. Law no. 2024-32 of September 2, 2024 fixes it on the second Friday of January. 2026 edition: 740,668 participants from 56 nationalities.
When is Vodun Days 2027?
From 2 to 9 January 2027, in Ouidah, official core on January 7, 8 and 9. The 7th is the public holiday Thursday that opens the weekend; the 8th, the second Friday of January, the legal date, hosts the Grand Ceremony; the 9th is the historic National Vodun Day that closes it.
Who organizes the festival, and who organizes After Vodundays?
Vodun Days is organized by the Beninese state (Ministry of Tourism and Culture) with FRABO. After Vodundays is the separate program run by ONG Wa Afriki (N°0108/MISP) that extends the festival: January 4 to 14, 11 days and 10 nights, with an optional year-end stay at the Palais d'Agondji, December 30 to January 3, in teams of 10 (Standard) or 5 (VIP), local stakeholders paid directly.
Attendance, official figures from the Beninese government
From 97,000 to 740,668
in two years.
2024
97,000
First edition under the Vodun Days format, INStaD count
2025
435,250
+349%, the year of international takeoff
2026
740,668
+70%, a record: 56 nationalities, 1.94M cumulative visits
2027
Jan 2-9 (core 7-9)
Dates set by law no. 2024-32 of September 2, 2024, the second Friday of January
Sources: official communications from the Beninese government and INStaD, consolidated on July 3, 2026
1996
First national Vodun holiday, written into law no. 97-031 in 1997
Jul. 30, 2024
Law setting the holiday on the second Friday of January
56
Nationalities represented at the 2026 edition
1.94 M
Cumulative visits to Ouidah's sites in 2026
10 / 5
After Vodundays team size, Standard / VIP
3
Staff per After Vodundays team, guide, hostess, specialized guide
Citing these figures.
This data may be reused freely with attribution: "After Vodundays, ONG Wa Afriki, Ouidah" and a link back to this page. For precise references on any figure, newsrooms are welcome to write to us, response within 24 h.
ONG Wa Afriki · N°0108/MISP · Ouidah, Benin
Behind the numbers,
there's an access.
740,668 people saw the festival. A handful of teams, every year, live what begins when the crowd leaves. That is the difference between attending, and coming back.
