Lagos will host an extraordinary gathering of poets as Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka leads the 2026 ProvidusBank World Poetry Day Café on March 19.
Themed “Power & Order: Freedom & Illusion,” the event will take place at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, formerly the National Theatre in Iganmu, starting at 5 p.m.
A total of eleven poets—four international and seven Nigerian will engage audiences through readings and spoken word performances. International participants include Yolanda Castano, Valter Hugo Mae, Maryam Palizban, and Mohsen Emadi, while Nigerian poets Dike Chukwumerije, Abdulalazeez Sirajo Alli, Ayomide Fasedu, Nwani Emmanuel Chidera, Pacella Chukwuma-Eke, Tobi Abiodun, and Hafsat Abdullahi will also perform.
The event will attract corporate executives, creatives, and members of the public, providing a platform to reflect on the year’s theme.
Established by UNESCO in 1999, World Poetry Day celebrates linguistic diversity, gives voice to endangered languages, and underscores poetry’s power to express human experience, challenge injustice, and inspire communities. In Nigeria, ProvidusBank has hosted the annual Poetry Café since 2020, under its corporate social responsibility programme. The initiative is curated by the Culture Advocates Caucus and directed by Jahman Anikulapo, under Soyinka’s guidance.
Past editions have explored themes such as environmental preservation, education, youth and female empowerment, migration, and cultural diversity. This year’s focus will examine societal forces, the nature of order and freedom, and the illusions that sustain power, highlighting the transformative role of creativity and the arts in national development.
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