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The week between Christmas and New Year is a unique time. You’re free to not worry about what day of the week it is, or think too heavily on anything beyond your current state. But as we reach the new year, it is equally fun to think about the things we hope will bring some much-needed collective joy in the year ahead.
This week, our colleagues from across the diaspora have shared the Black cultural events that they are looking forward to in 2026, from books and TV shows to Ghana beating England at the World Cup.
The World Cup
The world’s biggest sporting (and arguably cultural) event is back and literally bigger than ever with an expanded format of 48 teams, up from 32. England have been drawn in the same group as Ghana, an early one-to-watch for the diaspora. England coach Thomas Tuchel has called Ghana a “difficult and strong” opponent. He is right to take the matchup seriously: Ghana’s Black Stars have never lost to England.
Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde and South Africa make up the remainder of the African contingent at the tournament. Keep an eye on Senegal, who many have picked to equal or better Morocco’s achievement of becoming the first African team in history to reach a World Cup semi-final.
Save a cheer for the Caribbean island of Curaçao, with a population of about 160,000, they have become the smallest country ever to qualify for the World Cup.
Six South American teams have guaranteed their spots (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay and Paraguay) with a possible seventh if Bolivia or Suriname advance through the play-offs.
Festivals
The Antigua Carnival is a cultural event that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the Caribbean. In Antigua, it is a vibrant expression of national pride and cultural identity, characterised by joyous celebration, live music, and parades. The main event features masqueraders in intricately designed, elaborate costumes parading through St. John’s, accompanied by infectious soca and calypso music. The celebration also features J’ouvert Morning, a spirited event that starts in the early hours, where revellers take to the streets, often covered in paint, mud, or powder, dancing to live bands and DJs.
Somaliland’s Hargeisa International Book Fair will be held in July or early August 2026. It prides itself as “the biggest literary festival in the Horn of Africa” and has been running since 2008.
This year’s Calabash Literary festival in Jamaica will be special. The three-day programme, with author talks during the day, and DJ sets into the early hours, is held on Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth’s Parish. The region, like much of the island, suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Melissa in October, and so there’s hope that the area and its residents will be ready to welcome visitors again.
The region will also host the Bocas Lit Fest in Trinidad and Tobago, and the Caribbean festival of Arts in Barbados.
The Obama Presidential Library
After some delays, Barack Obama will finally unveil his presidential library in June, right in the heart of Chicago’s South Side. Its location has led to concerns that it will gentrify the area. Still, the Obamas claim that, unlike other presidential libraries that are essentially mausoleums to the past, the centre will act as a vibrant community hub.
Books
Wilderness of Mirrors, the debut novel by Caine prize-winning Sierra Leonean writer Olufemi Terry, was published in September 2025 and will be released in the UK in April 2026 by Les Fugitives. In summary, it is a book that explores themes of identity, race, privilege, dislocation, and political unrest in a post-apartheid society. You could also call it the sexual and intellectual coming-of-age story of a young surgeon in post-apartheid South Africa.
The World of Black Film by Ashley Clark is out in February (the cover alone is drool worthy). The book is a journey through 100 influential Black films from around the world.
May will bring the very Long Wave coded Africology and the African Diaspora by Molefi Kete Asante. The work seeks to highlight persistent links in practice and definition between members of the Black diaspora.
Also in May, Eden McKenzie-Goddard will publish his debut novel Smallie, about a woman caught in the Windrush scandal and her search for a lost love that could be the key to saving her.
The highly anticipated The Freedom of Birds is a queer novel set in Kenya by the Graywolf prize-winning author Kiprop Kimutai.
About to Fall Apart, Ashley Hickson-Lovence’s latest novel, is set for a UK release in April 2026 by Faber and Faber. Lovence’s poetic rhythm and expert exploration of familiar themes such as parenthood, race, identity, and loneliness mean it is a sure bet to make an impact.
Film and TV
2026 sees the return of Michaela Cole, who will star alongside Anne Hathaway in the film Mother Mary. Cole’s long-awaited TV series, First Day on Earth, is also expected to debut this year.
My Father’s Shadow has been on the festival circuit for a while, but it will be released worldwide in early 2026. The film, by brothers Akinola and Wale Davies, about a father and his two sons who spend the day together against the backdrop of Nigeria’s annulled 1993 presidential election, was the first Nigerian film ever selected for the Cannes Film festival’s Official Selection.
If they keep making new series of the Myha’la-led Industry, then I will simply continue watching them. Season 4 is out in a couple of weeks, and the trailers promise that the next instalment will be packed with more bad decisions carried out at full speed.
Music
In the face of a potential US invasion of Venezuela, and presidential elections in Brazil, Colombia and Peru, many South Americans are looking forward to Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos tour in January and February.
The long-awaited opening of the V&A East museum in Stratford, London will happen on 18 April with its inaugural exhibition The Music Is Black: A British Story. The exhibition will span from 1900 to the present day, celebrating everyone from pioneers such as Winifred Atwell and Janet Kay to current artists including Stormzy and Little Simz. It will also explore how musicians like Fleetwood Mac and the Beatles adopted sounds created by the UK’s Black community.
