Dubai serves as a vital hub port on the ancient Maritime Silk Road. For thousands of years, it has witnessed merchant fleets travelling between East and West, embodying the profound history of exchange and mutual learning among diverse civilizations. On December 16, 2026, the 13th Belt and Road International Day, the IFFC 2026 Dubai International Folk Festival Competition, endorsed by CID‑UNESCO (International Dance Council of UNESCO), will grandly kick off in Dubai and run until December 20. This opening day marks the starting point of the cultural campaign “Celebrating the New Year along the Belt and Road, Writing a New Chapter with Joint Festivities of Five Major Festivals”. The five festivals form a cross-border cultural celebration spanning more than two months. The convergence of these two cultural events creates a splendid international platform for people-to-people cultural exchanges across the Silk Road regions.
The “Five Joint Festivities” refers to the Belt and Road International Day, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Chinese Lunar New Year and Lantern Festival. Starting on December 16, the Belt and Road International Day, these five important festivals from East and West are linked together to build a "cultural honeymoon period" for people-to-people connectivity and integration of civilizations. IFFC 2026 brings together artistic delegations from more than 45 countries worldwide. Artists will deliver performances of folk dances, ethnic vocal music and traditional handicraft displays. Boasting a total prize pool of 800,000 AED, the competition evaluates four core categories: authenticity of traditional costumes, folk vocal performance, indigenous folk dance and hand-crafted artistry, preserving and showcasing the charm of global intangible cultural heritage.
Sails of the ancient Maritime Silk Road stretched far and wide. The Belt and Road Initiative inherits the timeless spirit of the ancient Silk Road: peace, openness, inclusiveness and mutual learning, putting great emphasis on people-to-people bonds. The Belt and Road International Day on December 16 commemorates ancient inter-civilizational exchanges and encourages cross-cultural dialogue among global civil societies. The festival’s opening on this special date forms a remarkable resonance between history and modern times. As an open cultural gateway in the Middle East, Dubai carries forward millennium-old Silk Road traditions. It unites folk artists from all continents, linking peoples of diverse nations and ethnic groups through the power of art, and sounds the opening movement for the "Five Joint Festivities" cultural series.
Organizers noted that the festival coincides with the 13th Belt and Road International Day and acts as the opening gala of the cultural campaign “Celebrating the New Year along the Belt and Road, Writing a New Chapter with Joint Festivities of Five Major Festivities”, endowing the festival with deeper humanistic connotations. Art troupes from Silk-Road-related countries and across the globe gather in Dubai, presenting native cultural stories via songs, dances and handicrafts and embodying inclusive mutual learning of Silk Road civilizations. It is expected that IFFC will further boost non-governmental cultural interactions under the framework of the Belt and Road. Relying on the two-month-long cycle of the five connected festivals, the event will enhance mutual understanding and friendship among ordinary people worldwide, and revitalize the age-old Silk Road spirit on the contemporary artistic stage.
