WeLovEya 2026: The Practical Guide to Planning Your Stay

Every year in late December, Place de l'Amazone in Cotonou becomes the stage for Benin's biggest urban music and Afrobeat festival. Founded in 2022, WeLovEya drew more than 70,000 festival-goers in 2024, with a line-up mixing pan-African headliners and Benin's emerging scene. If you're thinking of being there this year, here's how to plan your stay.

When and where

The festival has traditionally taken place on 27 and 28 December at Place de l'Amazone in Cotonou — a central spot, reachable from most of the economic capital's accommodation districts. Exact dates for each edition are usually confirmed a few months in advance; check the festival's official channels before locking in your flights.

Tickets

Entry is ticketed. For the 2025 edition, tickets ranged from roughly 10,000 to 150,000 FCFA depending on the package, with ultra-premium areas priced far higher. Prices and sales points for the 2026 edition are not yet known: only buy through the festival's official channels.

Where to sleep

You don't need to be right next to Place de l'Amazone to enjoy the festival. Two approaches:

Stay close to the venue to limit late-night trips after the concerts, particularly handy if you plan to do both nights
Stay in a quieter seaside district such as Fidjrossè, and arrange transport for the return trips

Browse our accommodation directory to compare options for your budget — the festival period is a demand peak, so book several weeks ahead rather than at the last minute.

Before you leave

If you're coming from abroad, two formalities to handle alongside booking your accommodation:

The e-visa, required for most non-African nationalities — see our Visa & Vaccinations guide for the full procedure and the exemption African nationals benefit from
The yellow fever vaccination certificate, required of every traveller on entry, to be done at least 10 days before departure

On the ground

Late December falls in Benin's dry season — a real comfort for an open-air festival, though you should still plan to drink plenty of water through the day. Payment on site is overwhelmingly cash or Mobile Money; our Money & Payment guide explains how to sort yourself out if you're only staying a few days.

After the festival

Many festival-goers use their time in Cotonou to extend their stay by a few days towards Ouidah (45 minutes by road) or Ganvié — two destinations that combine naturally with a Cotonou base for anyone with only a few days' leave around the end-of-year holidays.

This article will be updated as the dates and line-up of the next edition are officially confirmed.