Gelede Masks, FITHEB Theatre & Cotonou's Arts Scene
Cotonou is an unexpected cultural capital — the biennial FITHEB theatre festival draws African theatre companies, while the Gelede masked ceremony from the Yoruba tradition is UNESCO-listed
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Gelede masked dance ceremony
The Gelede ceremony honors the power of elderly women and female spirits through elaborate carved and painted masks – a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Yoruba-Nago people
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FITHEB International Theater Festival
The biennial French African Theater Festival held in Cotonou brings theater companies from across Africa and the diaspora — one of the continent's most important cultural gatherings
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National Museum of Benin
The National Museum in Cotonou has collections of Dahomey royal court art, Vodou artifacts and ethnographic material from all of Benin's ethnic groups
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Music venues and Afropop
Cotonou's live music scene features Beninese Afropop acts, traditional fon music and Yoruba-influenced music from the border with Nigeria — a musically diverse city
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Alliance Française cultural program
The Alliance Française in Cotonou runs a full cultural program — film screenings, gallery exhibitions and concerts that attract Cotonou's educated and creative class
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Zémidjan Motorcycle culture
The Zémidjan motorcycle taxi is the defining symbol of life in Cotonou — the city has 150,000 motos weaving through traffic; the moto culture has inspired fashion, music and photography