Lagos to Host AFRIMA 2016

Tue, Aug 16, 2016
By publisher
3 MIN READ

BREAKING NEWS, Entertainment

– 

THE African Union Commission, AUC, has announced Lagos State as the official Host City of the third edition of the All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA. Declaring Lagos as the official city to host AFRIMA 2016 edition, Angela Martins, head of culture, AUC, said taking a decision on the Centre of Excellence was a herculean task because all the cities targeted were equal to the task in terms of infrastructure, tourism potential and richness of culture but Lagos State has an edge in key areas.

Prior to the prestigious occasion, AU had targeted four cities as potential hosts for the continental awards ceremony. These cities were Calabar (Cross River State), Lagos (Lagos State), Port Harcourt (Rivers State) and Uyo (Akwa Ibom State).

According to Martins, the African Union was pushing forward its developmental agenda and policies through the AFRIMA platform. “Also, in choosing the host city, we considered factors such as the willingness to create value and deep brand equity not only for Nigerians but Africans. Also, there was the consideration of which state has the most motivation to host AFRIMA in line with its values; which has the strongest vision in tourism, culture and entertainment.

“Then, the state must 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 as well as government’s responsiveness. It was discovered Lagos possesses all these factors and we arrived at our decision.”

In his acceptance speech, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, expressed delight at emergence of the state as the official host city. The governor, who was represented by Steve Ayorinde, commissioner for information in the state, said the state would not only throw its weight behind AFRIMA and partner the African Union but also provide facilities and infrastructure to make AFRIMA 2016 a success.

He said, “I understood that the emergence of the host city was keenly contested by four states and the transparency shown so far is impressive. With the third edition taking place in Lagos, this will be the first time that AFRIMA will enjoy the full participation of the Lagos State Government.”

Governor Ambode said African Union’s vision aligns with Lagos State’s. “The reason why Lagos State is partnering with AFRIMA should not be far-fetched. More importantly, the vision of AFRIMA is a veritable platform to celebrate the best of talents in African music industry which aligns with the vision of the African Union to foster peace, unity and development through cultural expressions and creative enterprise.

“Moreover, these values are also in sync with the Lagos State vision of being an undeniable entertainment capital of Africa, as well as being the hub of creative expressions in the continent. The aim is to open up the state for performing arts to blossom and we are ready to partner with credible organizations to ensure that Lagos remains the destination of choice for arts and entertainment, for artistes and for those who make the business of arts to thrive.”

Thanking the Lagos State government for accepting the right to host AFRIMA 2016, Martins commended the state’s support artistic enterprise. “This is a great achievement for Africa which also promotes the development of culture and an advancement of the creative industry,” she said.

The third edition of All Africa Music Awards will hold on November 4-6 in Lagos, Nigeria.

—  Aug 16, 2016 @ 18:30 GMT

|

Tags: