Iloilo City gives a go for Dinagyang 2021

• Dinagyang will be organized with health protocols in place and it will be presented virtually.

• The celebration will be in virtual form to address the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Dinagyang Festival 2021 is a go but it will offer a unique experience because of the ongoing pandemic.

For the first time in its 53 year history, the world-acclaimed Dinagyang will be organized with health protocols in place and it will be presented virtually through online and social media platforms.

The religious-cultural event held in Iloilo City every fourth weekend of January will have a theme: “One Dinagyang One Iloilo Halad kay Sr. Sto Niño”.

Next year’s celebration will be largely digital or in a virtual form to address the city’s response to the COVID-9 pandemic. Health and safety protocols will be strictly implemented notwithstanding the joyous celebration of the festival in honor of Senor Sto. Niño, emphasized IFFI in a social media post.

A memorandum of agreement between Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, San Jose Parish Church and the Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc. (IFFI) was already signed.

According to Mayor Treñas, next year’s festival “has been tailor-made for COVID-19 to ensure that there will be no transmission. Our participants are now being housed in schools and [they] will be tested frequently to ensure their safety.”

“The IFFI also established a Committee on Health so they can take good care of our constituents. We are pushing through with the event as our devotion to Señor Sto. Niño,” Treñas added.

The Iloilo City Government has allotted a P1-million budget for the holding of the event in a one of a kind showcase as a result of the pandemic.

The Dinagyang Festival depicts the arrival of Malay settlers and the barter of Panay Island from the Ati natives interpreted by different tribes through music and dance performances. The annual festival has grown to become an international annual event for it invites tourists and dignitaries from around the globe.