The 2026 Likoma Island Festival scheduled to take place this weekend from October 15 to 18 has been rescheduled to November 6 to 10 due to logistics and financial changes.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the organisers said their initial plan to charter the MV Chilembwe has become financially unfeasible after they failed to attain the required passenger numbers and received revised cost estimates from the vessel’s operators.
Reads the statement: “We did not reach the required passenger threshold needed to warrant the vessel’s deployment.
“Very recent revised cost estimates from the operators factored in their true operational costs that were omitted during our initial discussions, making the charter financially unfeasible.”
The organisers said they have opted to adjust the arrangements rather than cancelling the festival, which will now run in line with the MV Ilala schedule.
The changes will require some patrons to adjust their travel plans, especially those travelling from the Northern Region and had planned to board the vessel in Nkhata Bay as they will now be required to travel to Nkhotakota to board the MV Ilala.
In an interview, the festival’s deputy communications manager Ireen Mseteka confirmed the changes, saying the number of people who registered affected the cost of chartering the vessel.
She said the revised arrangements will enable the festival to proceed and that the changes in dates are necessary to accommodate the available transport schedule for MV Ilala.
Mseteka expressed confidence that the event will take place as planned in November, adding that preparations were already at an advanced stage before the rescheduling.
“We were almost done with the preparations and everything. Accommodation for patrons is ready, the venue was set. We are confident that come November we will have the festival,” she said.
The festival will exclusively feature Malawian talent as the organisers seeks to promote Malawi’s cultural heritage and talent.
Among the performing artists is Black Missionaries Band, whose lead vocalist, Anjiru Fumulani, said they were informed of the changes but the new dates could affect the band’s availability.
“We have been preparing for some time for the dates we were given. So, the changes do have an impact. We will have to check our availability and see if we can make it on the new dates,” he said.
Fumulani has since urged the organisers to learn from the experience and consider alternative transport arrangements for future events, particularly those that depend on water transport.
“Organisers should plan for possible transport challenges in advance to avoid inconveniencing artists and patrons who make arrangements to attend such events,” he said.
The Likoma Island Festival is an annual festival that seeks to promote arts, culture and tourism on Likoma and Chizumulu Islands.
