Habanos Festival 2026 cancelled – Cohiba anniversary to be held in London

The 2026 Habanos Festival will not take place. However, the programme of events to mark Cohiba’s 60th anniversary will go ahead as planned – albeit in London.

The reason for this is a reassessment of the current situation in Cuba.

Key points at a glance

• Event: Cancellation of the 26th Habano Festival / Continuation of the Cohiba anniversary programme
• Organiser: Habanos S.A.
• Next date: Launch of the Cohiba Talismán on 7 October 2026 in London

Habanos Festival 2025: The relaunch of Romeo y Julieta Amantes.

Cancellation of the 2026 Habano Festival

The Habano Festival is regarded as the key international gathering for the Cuban cigar industry. The organising committee’s decision to cancel the 26th edition follows an analysis of the current organisational and infrastructural conditions. There are currently no specific dates for when the event might resume in its usual form; the organisers are continuing to monitor developments in the overall situation.

Invitation from Zigarren.Zone

Continuation of the Cohiba anniversary celebrations

Regardless of the cancellation of the Habanos Festival, Habanos S.A. is continuing with the programme of events to mark the 60th anniversary of the Cohiba brand. The celebrations will include local events in various international markets. The programme kicks off with an event in London on 7 October 2026.

What's new?

The Cohiba Talismán cigar will be unveiled to the public at the event in London. Habanos S.A. had already used this name for a limited edition back in 2017. With this latest announcement, the vitola will be incorporated as a permanent fixture in the regular Línea Clásica range.

Why is this interesting?

For many years, the Habanos Festival has been regarded as the most important international platform for Cuban cigars. As well as product launches, it offers seminars, factory tours, auctions and the opportunity for direct interaction between manufacturers, retailers and cigar smokers from all over the world.

The decision shows that Habanos S.A. is keeping Cohiba’s anniversary programme separate from the festival in organisational terms. This means that new products can also be unveiled outside the traditional festival week. However, it is not clear from the announcement whether this will happen more frequently in future.

The permanent inclusion of the Cohiba Talismán in the Línea Clásica is significant from a product strategy perspective: the transition of a format originally launched as an Edición Limitada to mass production is a rare occurrence in the Cuban portfolio. It is not clear from the available information whether the format (length and ring gauge) and the tobacco blend correspond to the 2017 version or have been modified.

Cohiba Talismán Limited Edition 2017.

Source: Based on the press release from Habanos S.A.

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Photos

• Vasilij Ratej
• Cohiba Talismán Edición Limitada 2017: cubancigarwebsite.com