Afro Nation confirms dates for Nigeria debut

The news was made public on 5 September and follows the Afrobeats festival brand’s American debut at the 40 000-capacity LoanDepot Park on Memorial Day weekend from 27 to 28 May. The festival also took place in Detroit in August.

The line-up for Afro Nation Nigeria has yet to be released, but as is tradition, the programme is expected to feature multiple festival stages and unite a variety of top artists from genres like Afrobeats, amapiano, Afro-house, hip hop, R&B and dancehall.

The urban beach festival has been hosted in various locations worldwide, including Portugal, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Ghana with an impressive roster of headliners including Wizkid, Davido and Burna Boy. It is also widely recognised among the events responsible for elevating the international status of African pop music, particularly Afrobeats.

In December last year, on Day 2 of Afro Nation Ghana in the capital Accra, the event was abruptly cancelled due to safety concerns. It is unclear if the festival will return to the country this year, despite a five-year agreement between producers Event Horizon and the Ghanaian government. The agreement was signed in 2019 after the festival’s Ghana debut at Accra’s Laboma Beach.

In August, Ghanaian Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Awal Mohammed confirmed that agreement was still in force. “Afro Nation has not been taken away from Ghana,” he said. “There are certain demands they want and we are trying to look at how to collaborate.”

Afro Nation is produced in partnership with Live Nation, SMADE Entertainment, MOT and major media partner BBC Radio 1Xtra.