Cuba’s Habanos Festival Returning in 2022
Cuba’s biggest cigar party is coming back. The Habanos Festival is scheduled to return in early 2022, with a one-week party centered around the love of Cuban cigars running from February 21 to 25.
The last time the event was held, in February 2020, the world was on the precipice of a pandemic. Even before festivities began on February 24, 2020 in Havana, rumors were abundant about who would show and who would not. At the time, the Coronavirus outbreak was largely limited to China, which was revealed as the new No. 1 market for Cuban cigars in 2020. There were particular concerns about the charity auction that concludes each festival, concern that was shattered when records were broken with a $2.7 million bid for a Cohiba humidor.
Like so many events, the 2021 Habanos Festival, scheduled for February 2021 was cancelled. It was the first time in the 23-year-history of the event that it was called off.
Details about the agenda for next year’s festival are expected to follow at a later date. Traditionally the event is a series of presentations, trade shows, tobacco field trips, factory tours and festive cocktail parties as well as dinners with plenty of cigar smoking. Cuba also uses the week to showcase many of its newest cigars.
Cuba recently announced it would reopen the country to tourism in November. The Trump Administration reversed Obama-era policies of normalization with the country, a move President Biden has not changed, resulting in prohibitions that make it illegal for most Americans to visit Cuba.
With reporting by Gary Heathcott
