Varsity orientation: 5FM’s O-Week party is taking over campuses – here’s the schedule

If you’re stepping onto campus for the first time this year, consider this your official welcome.

5FM is rolling into universities across South Africa with Standard Bank in tow. They are turning O-Week 2026 into a full-on student experience that feels less like a lecture and more like the first chapter of your best story yet.

This isn’t about stiff speeches or boring handouts. Instead, it’s about the thrill of finding your people and getting lost on campus. You’ll survive your first lecture and soon realise that varsity life is a whole new world.

With the theme Your Campus Adventure Starts Now, 5FM is tapping into every emotion that comes with being a fresher. This includes excitement and nerves, but also freedom and possibility.

5 Lunch hosts Lula Odiba and Nadia Romanos will be broadcasting live from campuses. They are bringing the energy straight to students where it matters most.

The tour kicks off at Wits on Thursday, 29 January. It then heads to Stellenbosch on 30 January, touches down at Rhodes in Makhanda on 5 February, visits the University of the Free State on 13 February, and wraps up at the University of Pretoria on 26 February.

Each stop captures a different moment of first-year life.

Think funny first-lecture fails, instant friendships, confusing timetables, and those “how did we get here” stories that only O-Week can deliver. The chaos peaks with First Big Friday. On that day, Lula Odiba jumps on the decks to celebrate making it through week one in style.

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From playful sketches poking fun at campus characters to anonymous confession booths spilling wild O-Week stories, everything is fast, funny and painfully relatable.

Students also get a chance to shine, with campus radio voices and student-shot clips making their way onto national airwaves.

Helping with finance, Standard Bank will add a twist, turning money talk into something students actually want to engage with.

Through games and interactive experiences, intimidating topics like budgeting and student loans become easier to understand without killing the vibe. It’s about setting students up for independence, not lecturing them.

Classes may be starting, but the adventure is just getting started.