Events & Festivals in Gaborone

Guided tours reveal mosaic interiors while cardamom tea steams and sweet dates are pressed into visitors' palms.

Blankets spread beneath fever trees as saxophones glide over the dam water, accompanied by the smoky aroma of braai stands.

Red lanterns sway above stalls offering rose-scented candles, dark-chocolate biltong and live violinists tucked between vintage bookshelves.

Micro-brewers pour hibiscus lagers while food trucks dish out seswaa sliders under string lights at the Three Dikgosi Monument lawns.

Seven days of theatre, dance, poetry and street parades turn the University of Botswana and Maitisong Theatre into Botswana's biggest arts playground.

Candle-bearing worshippers walk from Christ the King Cathedral to the Civic Centre singing hymns that drift above the evening traffic fumes.

Lycra-clad riders hurtle past the Gaborone Dam wall while crowds line the roadside munching vetkoek and cheering sprint finishes.

Local firms face off in seven-a-side matches while grills hiss and Castle Lite flows behind the National Stadium stands.

Runway lights bounce off sequinned shweshwe gowns while percussionists provide live soundtracks inside the Grand Palm conference hall.

Thoroughbreds thunder down the turf at the Gaborone Turf Club amid picnic blankets, the scent of boerewors rolls and clinking Castle lagers.

Five consecutive nights of Afro-pop, kwaito and gospel concerts spill from the National Stadium to smaller clubs around Riverwalk.

San troupes perform rhythmic trance dances on ochre dust while spectators taste wild-melon juice and feel drumbeats vibrate through the soles.

National flags ripple above Parliament lawns as military bands march, jets roar overhead and fireworks light the Gaborone sky in red, white and blue.

Long tables groan under pots of bogobe, tripe stew and mopane worms while marimba rhythms drift from the museum amphitheatre.

Hundreds of clay lamps flicker along the Broadhurst Mall walkway, mingling with sweet cardamom smells from ladoos handed out by temple volunteers.

Spotlights carve sharp shadows as poets spit Setswana and English verses, backed by a lone djembe and the scent of fresh coffee.

Once a month the Main Mall closes to cars and fills with fairy-lit stalls selling hand-carved salt spoons, chilli biltong and ginger beer brewed under jacarandas.

Harmonies soar inside the packed University of Botswana auditorium, candle scents mingle with pine wreaths, and the encore always ends with a candle-lit 'Silent Night'.

Food smoke curls above car-free Independence Avenue, DJ stages blast house music, and midnight fireworks reflect off glass bank towers.

Thousands of small flames flicker across the parliament gardens, accompanied by a cappella choirs and the soft rustle of winter leaves.