As preparations get into full gear towards the prestigious awards ceremony AFRIMA 2016 this weekend, the African Union and the International Committee of the All Africa Music Awards, have unveiled hosts for the Sunday November 6 ceremony in Lagos, Nigeria.
The hosts, who were drawn from the three majorly spoken languages in Africa— English, French and Arabic— are Ahmed Soultan (Morocco); MsBonang Matheba(South Africa; and Ika Jang(Congo).
Ahmed Soultan is a Moroccan music star, who is also an AFRIMA double award winner. He is a leader of the Moroccan Group, Nayda. Soultan is a multilingual artiste and celebrity, who speaks English, French, Portuguese and Arabic fluently. He has performed at the GLO CAF Awards and he is also a nominee for one of the categories of AFRIMA 2016. His albums include ‘Music Has No Boundaries’ (2004), ‘Tolerance’ (2005) and ‘Code’ (2009).
Bonang Matheba, is a versatile South African media personality, who anchors the popular SABC 1 Music Live Show. She is also a winner of the International Golden Horn Award for Best TV Presenter.
Ika Jong is a multi-talented bilingual Congolese TV Broadcaster and celebrity.
However, the Red Carpet hosts are Denola Grey, Denrele Edun, Hauwa AllahBura; and Pam Happi.
Denola is a style blogger, model, fashion enthusiast, broadcaster on Ebonylife TV, Nigeria. He has carved a niche for himself in the fashion industry.
Pam Happi, who is fondly called Miss P is a bilinguist and a household name in Cameroon. She is the renowned hostess of Miss P Show, which is one of the most-watched Cameroonian talk shows.
Hauwa Allahbura is a Nigerian model, actress and a TV personality whose rise to fame came when she won the Miss FCT pageant some years ago. She was born in Kanam Plateau and works as a TV presenter for VillageSquare TV a Nollywood entertainment channel broadcasting on ONTV but now a TV channel known as Trybe TV.
Adenrele Oluwafemi Edun, popularly known as Denrele Edun was one of the red carpet hosts of AFRIMA 2015. Known for his unique fashion style and personality, he started his television career as an actor when he was 11 years and also a presenter/producer on a NTA children’s programme, Kiddievision 101.Denrele is an entertainment personality whose style has been described as “punk and fun”. He went into modelling, and after graduating from school, he joined Sound City, Nigeria, as a TV presenter.
However, the AFRIMA 2016 events will be preceded by AFRIMA Music Village on Friday November, 4, 2016. This is a non-stop music concert with over 40 African artistes performing live at the Waterfront, Bar Beach, Victoria Island, Lagos Nigeria. Thousands of guests are expected in Lagos for the event.
This event is free to those wearing the AFRIMA T-shirt which is available at www.ariiyatickets.com or at the Beach venue.
Also, as part of the activities for nominees to have a feel of Lagos, there will be a guided tour of Eko Atlantic City, popularly called the Eighth Wonder of the World. Other tourists sites to visit include the Freedom Park, Broad Street, which houses relics of the slave trade and Nigeria’s struggles for Independence. Other historic places to visit in Lagos, which is AFRIMA’s official host city, will be a visit to the Palace of the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, which is located in Central Lagos, known as Iga Iduganran.
The grand finale, the awards night, comes up on Sunday November 6, with thousands of guests expected in Lagos from across Africa and the world. The event will hold inside the prestigious Convention Centre of the Eko Hotels & Suites. The All Africa Music Awards is tailored to recognise and reward those who have given African music the most creative competitive edge in the global market within the year under review. Over 154 nominees are campaigning for votes from the public for the various categories of awards.