Togo/ Aného to Host First National Beach Sports Festival in December

In Togo, the Lacs 1 municipality will host the first edition of the National Beach Sports Festival from December 24 to 26, 2026. Organized by the Togolese Association for the Promotion of Sports for All (ATPST), in partnership with the municipality, the event will feature competitions in beach soccer, beach volleyball, handball, basketball, and surfing.

Beyond the sporting activities, the organizers intend to use this event to promote tourism along the coast and raise awareness about its protection.

For the municipality, this will once again be an opportunity to continue its efforts to raise the profile of “Destination Aného.” In January 2026, the Maison du Tourisme des Lacs 1 organized the second edition of the Destination Aného Edu-Tour. About twenty professionals from the tourism, media, and communications sectors participated in this promotional event. The program included visits to historic sites, royal palaces, and natural areas, as well as meetings with tourism operators.

Expanding Tourism Initiatives

The city boasts several attractions, including its Afro-Brazilian architectural heritage, colonial buildings, the Zébé Regional Museum, and the cultural traditions of Glidji. The Aného-Glidji metropolitan area has been on UNESCO’s Tentative List of World Heritage Sites since 2021.

This strategy will also be supported by the fifth edition of the Aného International History Festival (FIHA), scheduled for November 12–15, 2026. Under the theme “Sharing, ” this edition will feature the European Union as the guest region and Blitta as the partner city. The program includes an international symposium, a book fair, a carnival, a food festival, and a Togo-EU economic and cultural forum.

If established as a long-term event, the festival could help diversify tourism activities and sources of income for local stakeholders, particularly in the hospitality, food service, and leisure sectors.

It should also be noted that in the coastal strip, coastal protection remains a key challenge, even as coastal protection projects continue. By the end of April 2026, 14 of the 22 groins planned for the Gbodjomé-Agbodrafo-Goumoukopé coastal segment had been completed as part of the WACA-ResIP program.

Source: www.togofirst.com/