Iloilo city: The organizer of the 2026 Dinagyang Festival is inviting spectators to stay until the end of the performances during the Tribes Competition to watch a thousand performers dancing together in unity, honoring the Se±or Santo Ni±o on Jan. 25. "We call this a praise song for Sto. Nino and this is something you should experience and watch," Iloilo Festivals Foundation, Inc. (IFFI) president Angel De Leon said in a media briefing Wednesday evening.
According to Philippines News Agency, the unity dance, to the beat of 'Hala Bira, Iloilo!', was first introduced during the opening salvo on Jan. 11, which already amazed the viewers, IFFI festival director Eric Divinagracia said. Divinagracia said it is an expression of the devotion of the Ilonggos to the Se±or Santo Ni±o, even if the tribes came from the seven districts of Iloilo City.
The choreography was based on the lexicon of 2021-2022, when, after the pandemic, they were inspired to create steps expressing the seven core Ilonggo values. The performance will be at the Iloilo Sports Complex, which is more spacious and can accommodate at least 700 dancers in one setting. "We look forward to that, the statement that we are one Dinagyang," Divinagracia said.
Meanwhile, in a press conference on Thursday, the Sub-Site Task Group Emergency Preparedness and Response highlighted its readiness for the upcoming celebration with the establishment of a central command center, and an incident management team in each of the three judging areas. Darwin Papa, task unit commander for rescue, said they have 655 deployable personnel for 32 ambulances, six rescue trucks, 10 fire engines, 49 ground teams, fire express teams, emergency operation centers, and emergency medical teams.
He said among the hazards they would be focusing on are fire occurrence, especially because two judging areas are near residential areas, extreme heat, mass movement at the end of performances, and the possibility of bomb threats that may cause the crowd to panic, even if not true. Papa said for the highlights, they expect the crowd in the three judging areas to reach 30,000, and 20,000 in the side streets or parade routes.
