THE AFRICA DAY CELEBRATION CONCERT BROUGHT AFRICANS FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE WITH A STAR STUDDED LINE-UP
The Africa Day Celebration (25 – 28 May) concluded its joint activations of Hybrid Business Talks, Art Exhibitions, and an African Food and Craft Market with a memorable finale, the Africa Day Celebration Music Concert at the Constitution Hill. The concert, which was co-sponsored by the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, and Recreation, the Gauteng Film Commission, and the Malaria Foundation, saw a large crowd dance in unison to a Pan African line-up of musical headlines, which were introduced by the Culture Squad, Tshego Koke, Shamiso, Leddi-G, Lerai, and Nomalanga. The Africa Day Celebration, a four-day celebration of African culture through music, art, and fashion, brought to life the goal of creating an environment where young people from all over the continent can come together, exchange ideas, network and have fun while doing so.
Under the theme United Colours of Africa, 40 vendors selling a wide range of African arts and crafts kept ticket buyers occupied while the sounds of Africa’s Hip Hop, Amapiano, Qqom, RnB, and Neo Soul genres filled the air with happiness. Among the audience’s favourite performances were Busiswa, who utilized her performance to promote mental health awareness, Africa’s Blxckie, who performed alongside Nigeria’s Femi Koya, and Zimbabwe’s ShaSha. Their electrifying performances kept the Africa Day Celebration Concert goers mesmerized with powerful deliveries of fan-favourite songs.
“Paramount Africa is excited at the success of the recently concluded activities to commemorate African Day 2022. As a Pan-African business that is focused on repositioning the continent and amplifying a reimagined Africa, we are firm believers that the diverse culture and creativity of our youth should be a source of strength, collaboration and greatness. Through our carefully curated entertainment programming, we remain committed to showcase African talent that would help the continent achieve more greatness and accolades in music, arts, storytelling and more. We will continue to play our role towards a unified collaborative continent where Africans from all works of life would come together to build a better future for our people,” said Monde Twala, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Paramount Africa.
As part of the activities to commemorate Africa Day on 25 May, the Malaria Foundation facilitated business talks with a local panel, highlighting the impact of the pandemic on the arts and how to deal with those challenges. BET’s Business Talk, hosted by Culture Squad Leddi G, saw Integrated Marketing Director, Youth & Entertainment Brands, Kelebogile Mashigo speak to the vision of a collaborative Africa expressed through engaging and relatable programming content and how aspiring artists can get their foot in the door as pioneers of the business of the arts.
The Gauteng Film Commission also launched a new website and summit program on 26 May, where local filmmakers are given the appropriate exposure and taught the required skills to meet opportunities for collaborative growth in Africa and overseas. The MEC of Sport, Art, Culture and Recreation, Mbali Hlophe, did a special session for the Paramount Africa docuseries content screenings. The People VS Democracy, The People VS Patriarchy, The People VS The People, and What Makes a Man were among the popular docuseries screened on 27 May.
Tune in to catch all that went down at the Africa Day Celebration which will premiere on MTV Base, DStv Channel 322 on Saturday, 11 June at 15:00WAT/16:00CAT and on BET, DStv Channel 129 on Sunday 19 June at 19:00 WAT/20:00 CAT.
