"Thousands of people flocked to Ouidah as Benin's Vodun Days festival kicked off on Saturday. Footage from the opening day shows performers wearing traditional costumes dancing and weaving through the crowds as spectators watched and joined in the celebrations. "This is my first time attending Vodun Days. I think it's a truly incredible festival, with lots to learn and visit, and also lots to see. It's a festival that also promotes our culture," a resident remarked. "[It] shows that the government is placing a lot of emphasis on culture, promoting culture, and actually bringing it out into the open," another added. The three-day event celebrates Benin's traditional Vodun religion with rituals, music, dance, and colourful cultural ceremonies. Organised by the government for the past three years, Vodun Days has grown from a one-day ceremony into an international festival. Recent years have seen the festival grow into a real magnet, attracting not only followers from Benin but also tourists from across the world who gather in Ouidah, known as the world’s spiritual capital of Vodun. Vodun, often referred to as voodoo, is an ancient faith rooted in ancestor worship, nature, and spirituality. Benin, recognised as its birthplace, celebrates the religion as a national holiday."