Friday, December 18. 6 p.m. Lagos time. That’s the moment Detty December Fest 2026 opens, and Wizkid is the man doing the opening.
Livespot360 confirmed him as the first headliner back in August, dropping the announcement on Instagram with characteristic swagger: “The countdown to December begins. Wizkid headlines the opening night of Detty December Fest 2026.” Then, just in case anyone missed the stakes, they added: “This is one night the whole internet would claim it attended.”
Bold talk. But last year’s numbers back it up.
Detty December Fest launched in 2025 and pulled more than 40,000 people into Ilubirin across its run. Busta Rhymes was there. Gunna, Tiwa Savage, Shenseea, Diamond Platnumz, all sharing a Lagos stage with Wande Coal, Phyno, Ice Prince, and a rising crop of names like Qing Madi and Young Jonn. It wasn’t a small experiment. It was a statement.
This year, the festival is doubling down. Two stages instead of one. Thirteen days instead of a single weekend. The Detty Festival Stage will carry the headline shows, Wizkid’s opener among them, while a new Detty Pulse Stage runs continuously through the full stretch, built around nightlife, culture, and emerging talent.
Darey Art Alade, co-founder of Livespot360’s parent company The 360Co, framed the expansion in blunt terms. “African music has never been more influential globally, and we believe our festivals should reflect that ambition,” he told Billboard.
For Wizkid, the timing lines up neatly with a return to form. He spent a quiet stretch out of the spotlight before dropping the joint EP “Real, Vol. 1” with Asake in January. Since then he’s worked with Vybz Kartel, Odeal, Jorja Smith, Tyla, and Ayra Starr, including “Gimme Dat,” a track that landed him a nomination for Best African Music Performance at the 2026 Grammys.
Coming home to open Detty December isn’t just a booking. It’s a homecoming for the man who helped put Afrobeats on the map in the first place.
The economics behind this season are staggering on their own. A 2025 report from MO Africa Company pegged Detty December’s total consumer spending across Lagos at roughly ₦396.5 billion, close to $291 million, pulling in visitors from across Nigeria and the diaspora. The numbers got big enough that the Federal Government stepped in, setting up a Presidential Task Force to coordinate aviation, security, tourism, and power supply for the entire festive period.
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That’s not hype. That’s Lagos treating December like national infrastructure.
Detty December Fest runs December 18 to 30. Tickets are on sale now.
Day 1 belongs to Wizkid.
