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The rapper made a surprise appearance from the balcony of the venue History on May 24 and announced the return of his star-studded hometown festival.
Drake watches on as the Sacramento Kings play the Toronto Raptors during the second half of their basketball game at the Scotiabank Arena on November 2, 2024 in Toronto.
Mark Blinch/Getty Images
OVO Fest will be back in summer 2025.
Drake made the announcement while making a surprise guest appearance at Central Cee‘s concert in Toronto Saturday (May 24) at History.
“I’ll see you this summer, by the way” Drake said to the crowd, while congratulating the British rapper on his success. “OVO Fest will be back this year.”
He then pointed back at Central Cee and said “we’ll need you there for that.”
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Drake hasn’t hosted his star-studded hometown festival since 2022. At that edition, he reunited with Young Money pals Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj and presented a Canadian extravaganza featuring Kardinal Offishall, Shawn Desman, Nelly Furtado and more.
The 2025 edition of OVO Fest would be his first since his high-profile beef with Kendrick Lamar and his ongoing lawsuit with his label Universal Music Group.
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No other details have been announced yet, but it sounds like Central Cee would be an obvious first guest. Drake praised the rapper before making his announcement, calling “Day In The LIfe” his favourite song. “I can go word for word on that,” he said.
OVO Fest typically takes place in August, around the same time as the Caribbean Carnival (a.k.a. Caribana).
Drake’s announcement came from up on the VIP balcony of History, where he also performed his newest hit “Nokia” from 2025’s collaborative album with PartyNextDoor, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U. Drake has a stake in the venue, along with Live Nation.
Drake has a history of making surprise announcements at other rappers’ shows in Toronto. He initially announced $ome $exy $ongs 4 U in a surprise set with PartyNextDoor at Budweiser Stage last summer.
Drake’s love of surprises is what makes OVO Fest so special in the first place, and this year should be no different.
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