Sinulog Festival 2025: The Most Grandiose of All Time

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How was your Sinulog Festival 2025 experience?

It seems that for many tourists, 2025 is the perfect time to visit the Queen City of the South.

For starters, the Sinulog Festival 2025, deemed the biggest festival in the Philippines, was brought back to its original venue, which is none other than the downtown area.

There have been many complaints and participants who backed out of the celebration back when it was held at the South Road Properties (SRP) in 2023 and 2024.

Thanks to the efforts of the Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI) and the Cebu City government led by Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, who had been teasing about the festival’s return to the metro since last year, Cebuanos were able to honor the cultural festival right where it belongs.

According to the city’s mayor, this year’s celebration will be “the most grandiose ever.”

The festival was last held in downtown Cebu in 2020, a few months before lockdowns were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 and 2022 festivals were canceled to adhere to social distancing policies.

This year, Cebuanos and tourists returned and crowded key city areas like the Fuente Osmeña Circle, the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC), and Mango Avenue to enjoy the many festivities.

Other than that, here are some highlights of the Sinulog Festival 2025.

LARGEST ATTENDANCE

As expected, many came to watch the Sinulog Grand Parade 2025. The streets were filled with colorful floats, higantes, and performers participating in the Sinulog dance.

According to a report from ABS-CBN, the parade spanned six kilometers, featuring 44 contingents, 61 floats, 10 higantes, and 11 puppeteers. (2025)

The contingents consisted mostly of past Sinulog winners and fan favorites, along with a few out-of-town participants. One of which is Bais City from Negros Oriental, who won first place in the Free Interpretation category of the Ritual Showdown and third in the Street Dancing Competition.

Other non-Cebuano acts include the City of Kidapawan Performing Arts Guild from Cotabato, the Bukluran Dance Troupe representing the Antipolo Maytime Festival, and the James L. Chiongbian National Trade School Performing Arts Guild from the Sarangani Province.

Several celebrities were also seen joining the parade, including the cast of Batang Quiapo, Cebuana actress Kim Chiu, reigning Miss Earth Jessica Lane, and even senatorial aspirants Risa Hontiveros, Bam Aquino, and Chel Diokno.

The parade officially ended at around 11 in the evening, making it not only the largest in terms of participants, but also the longest since the festival’s return after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of note, last year’s celebration at the SRP only had 17 contingents participating after contingents from the Cebu province withdrew from the competition.

MASSIVE CROWDS

CDN Digital reported that an estimated 4 million people watched the festivities in 2025, exceeding the initial expected number of viewers of around 3 million, including last year’s turnout of 2.5 to 3 million.

Mayor Garcia mentioned that the crowd caused delays for the grand parade, as the influx of people blocked different areas of the route.

This also forced the CCSC to close its gates during the Ritual Showdown as it had already reached its full capacity of up to 12,000 individuals.

Crowd management was one of SFI’s top priorities. They were anticipating viewers to double from the previous year, considering the number of people who came to witness the Fuente Christmas Tree Lighting in December. (2025)

Hotels in Cebu also reached around 80 to 100% occupancy rate, as reported by the Manila Times (2025), highlighting the number of travelers visiting from around the world.

The SFI set up over 600 bleachers installed along the parade route. Each had a capacity of 24 people, accommodating around 11,000 spectators in total.

WAS THE SINULOG FESTIVAL 2025 THE BEST EVER?

Numbers don’t lie, and the Sinulog Festival 2025 marked its official return to the downtown area.

Although some are a rough estimate, the number of participants and viewers perfectly encapsulates the success of this year’s festival.

Sinulog continues to entice millions from around the world, maintaining January’s streak of drawing in the largest number of tourists to the island every year.

Many had been patiently waiting for its return to the downtown area, and they made sure to make their time worthwhile. This was indeed the loudest the metro has been in a while.

If you’ve never joined in on the festivities, prepare to have a memorable experience. There’s a reason why Cebuanos are extremely proud of this iconic cultural festival. It’s so hard not to join in the famous chime, Pit Senyor!

REFERENCES:

Perez, Annie. 2025. “Over 4 million revelers celebrate Sinulog Festival in Cebu City”. ABS-CBN News.
https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/1/19/over-4-million-revelers-celebrate-sinulog-festival-in-cebu-city-0057.

Ares, Emmariel. 2025. “Sinulog 2025: 4M people crowd Cebu City”. CDN Digital.
https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/618377/sinulog-2025-4m-people-crowd-cebu-city.

Oliverio, Niña Mae. 2025. “Sinulog 2025 attendees could double than last year”. CDN Digital.
https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/615485/sinulog-2025-attendees-could-double-than-last-year.

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