As preparations for All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) season 3 enters top gear, there is a likelihood of shift in venue from Lagos which hosted the past two editions.
The 2016 edition of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA)-the third in the series is likely to be the last time Nigeria will have the honour of hosting the Pan-African reward event for the creative industry; having hosted it for the maximum number of three times allowed in any African country. From its maiden show in 2014 at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos to the 2015 edition at Eko Hotel in Lagos, the organizers have set a standard of excellence that can only grow in the coming years.
Scheduled for November, hosting of Season 3 of AFRIMA will be a keen contest among four Nigerian cities. According to a disclosure at the recent Africa Union Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the International Committee of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA). These four cities are;
* Calabar (Cross River State),
* Lagos (Lagos State),
* Port Harcourt (Rivers State) and
* Uyo (Akwa Ibom State).
The Commissioner for Social Affairs, African Union Commission, Dr. Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko said, "The main purpose of the host city partnership is to showcase the tourism and economic potential of one of the great cities in Africa and promote its strengths to global audience which in turn adds to the GDP of the state and the continent at large."
While urging the considered cities to passionately vie for hosting privileges, the AUC official pointed out the immense advantages for the host city which include 'long term investment and job creation; adoption of new benchmarks for city development; increased civic pride and community empowerment; increased tourism and publicity'.
"Ultimately, there is an opportunity to tap into the millions of participants and followers of the booming African music," said Kaloko.
Also, AFRIMA Director of Sponsorship/Communication, Ms. Matlou Tsotetsi, explained that these four states are capable of creating global brand equity for Africa.
She said, "The host city will be one that is willing to create value and deep brand equity not only for Nigerians but Africans. It must have the most motivation to host AFRIMA in line with its values; have the strongest vision in tourism, culture and entertainment; have the most adequate facilities, surrounding infrastructure, security and tourist attraction to host the event and should have hosted successful events in the past that attracted both national and or global audiences."
Another significant development which Dada said would further the course of AFRIMA is the recent launch of a single, common electronic passport (e-Passport) for all Africans.
It also applauded the ultimate goal of the single passport which is set to realize the dream of visa-free travel for African citizens within the African continent by 2020.
Reacting to this development, President/ Executive Producer, AFRIMA, Mike Dada, said, "The African Union's plan to allowing free movement of citizens within the African continent is a stepping stone towards building."
Meanwhile, submission of entries for this year's edition of the continental awards which opened on Monday, May 30 has closed on July 30.
During the period, the AFRIMA secretariat was flooded with a deluge of entries, suggesting a huge increase in awareness and anticipation for the award in the past couple of years. This was confirmed by the enthusiastic response of African music artistes, music professionals and journalists who have flooded the AFRIMA website with entries from across the continent and from Africans in the Diaspora for the 2016 All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA tagged "AFRIMA 3.0".
Explaining further, The Regional Director, Central Africa, Ernest Ewanee, said: "I must say we are impressed with the level of participation by African artistes especially the big artistes. This is an encouraging success marker for us considering the fact that we have surpassed the number of last editions."
Speaking further on what to expect, the President and Executive Producer, AFRIMA, Mike Dada said, "We would not want to distort the calendar for this year's edition."
The 13-person AFRIMA jury which represents the five regions of Africa, the Diaspora and the African Union Commission will use one week in August for the adjudication process for the crucial responsibility of screening, categorising, assessing, adjudication and selecting nominees from the body of works submitted for award consideration. Concluding the adjudication process, on August 22 will be an announcement of the nominees.
Will Lagos still host this year Edition??? Let's gear your comment.
