Festival de Dougga opens its 50th edition on 10 July as tickets go on sale

Tunisia's Festival International de Dougga opens its 50th edition on Friday 10 July 2026, with tickets on sale now through the Teskerti platform at prices starting from 23 dinars per night.

The festival runs until Saturday 25 July at the Roman theatre within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Dougga in north-west Tunisia. The festival directorate opened online sales on Wednesday 1 July at 8 pm, Kapitalis and BusinessNews reported.

The venue holds around 3,500 seats in total, though the festival director, Mokhtar Belaatek, said at a press conference that roughly 200 places are reserved for guests, leaving around 1,800 tickets commercially available per night, BusinessNews reported.

Nine evenings, opening and closing acts

The nine-night programme spans music, comedy and theatrical performance. Singer Shayma Helali will headline the opening night on 10 July, preceded by the premiere of a 20-minute documentary on the festival's history, commissioned by the Fondation Arts & Culture by UIB and directed by Faouzi Chamli with a script by Ahlem Ghayaza, BusinessNews reported.

Comedian Saber Oueslati brings his one-man show Papa Noël on 11 July, followed by a concert from singer Mortadha Ftiti on 12 July. On 15 July, the joint UK-Egyptian musical project of Tamsin Elliott and Tarek ElAzhary takes the stage.

The mid-festival stretch from 17 to 21 July brings the programme's highest-profile names: Raouf Maher, Egyptian pop star Hakim, multi-instrumentalist Nabil Ben Mesmia and veteran Tunisian singer Lotfi Bouchnak. The 17 July night carries a ticket price of 85 dinars, according to teskerti.tn — the highest of the season. Marwa Nagy performs on 24 July before the festival closes on 25 July with Ziara, the musical theatre piece by Sami Lajmi.

Ticket prices and how to book

Most nights are priced at 23 or 28 dinars. The Hakim/Bouchnak evening on 17 July is listed at 85 dinars on teskerti.tn, which is the official online booking platform. Tickets can be reserved at teskerti.tn.

Financial pressures behind the anniversary

The 50th edition arrives against a backdrop of sustained budget strain. Belaatek said at the press conference that ministry of Tourism subsidies for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 editions had not yet been paid, forcing the organising association to carry rolling deficits, BusinessNews reported.

The Union Internationale de Banques, through its Fondation Arts & Culture by UIB, is the festival's main private sponsor. Belaatek was quoted saying: "The ideas exist, the artists want to come, but festivals need real support."

The 50th edition's programme is predominantly Tunisian, with Egyptian acts as the main international element, Tekiano noted — a contrast with ambitions expressed in earlier years for broader international reach. La Presse de Tunisie described the line-up as stronger on popular appeal than on artistic ambition, while Kapitalis framed it as a festival doing what it can within tight constraints.

The festival's roots trace to 1920, when performances were first staged at the Dougga site to draw attention to the archaeological heritage of the area. The current annual international format took shape from the 1970s onwards.

Tickets and the full schedule are available at teskerti.tn.