The Calabar Festivals and Carnivals 2025 recorded an estimated 780,000 on-site spectators and reached over 1.3 billion television viewers worldwide, underscoring the growing global appeal of the cultural showcase.
This was disclosed in a report by Prince Ojoi Ekpenyong, Managing Director of the Cross River State Tourism Bureau, who highlighted the festival’s expanding footprint as one of Africa’s most widely watched cultural events.
According to the report, attendance at the Cultural Carnival, Children’s Carnival, Bikers’ Carnival, and the main Carnival Calabar surpassed 2024 figures, with visitors arriving from across Nigeria and beyond to participate in the celebrations.
Ekpenyong noted that global visibility of the festival grew significantly in 2025. Over 1.3 billion viewers followed the events through DSTV Channel 198 and partner television networks worldwide, while live online streaming attracted more than 120 million viewers across social media and digital platforms.
He stated that the extensive broadcast and digital reach has further strengthened Calabar’s international tourism brand and positioned the festivals as a key instrument for cultural promotion, tourism development, and economic visibility for Cross River State.
The Cross River State Tourism Bureau (CRSTB) had earlier held training for enumertors ahead for a comprehensive data collection exercise for the 2025 Detty December season in Calabar, building on the strong performance recorded during 2024 Calabar Festival and Carnival.
The training, organised by the bureau, was aimed at equipping enumerators and officials with the skills needed to accurately capture visitor numbers, spending patterns and overall economic impact during the festive period. Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CRSTB, Ekpenyong Ojoi, said resource persons drawn from the bureau and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) were engaged for the exercise, underscoring the state’s commitment to evidence-based tourism planning and policy.
