Africa Day Party: Glammed-up Lagos Revellers Celebrate

The movers and shakers in front of and behind the cameras of Nigeria’s creative industries turned out in style to celebrate Africa Day in Lagos – all wearing traditional attire.

This was a stipulation for those attending The YouTube Africa Day Concert on Tuesday evening: they must celebrate the continent’s culture by wearing African dress.

The colourful event, which featured some of the continent’s big music stars, was recorded so it can be streamed online on Wednesday – when the continent marks Africa Day.

Singers from five African nations performed – with Nigerian Afrobeats acts dominating the stage, including Yemi Alade below:

D’banj, Ckay (seen hugging below) Davido, Reekado Banks and Mayorkun (below in shades) also wowed the crowd.

Numerous Lagos celebrities were in the audience, including Nollywood actor Akah Nnani – though he seemed not to have read the invite’s dress code:

Neither did the recently crowned winner of Nigeria Idol, Progress Chukwuyem (below right), who won the talent show on Sunday night with a rendition of Ariana Grande’s Bang Bang:

But Elozonam, who became prominent in his career as a reality TV star on Big Brother Naija, nailed his look:

As did Nigerian singer Darey, who incorporated some stitched bling into his outfit:

As if to nod to African time, the gig started three hours late, but that did not diminish from the entertainment.

Hollywood star Idris Elba introduced some acts virtually from London, with musicians D’banj and Busiswa hosting live on stage:

It is the third concert of its kind to mark Africa Day.

The event seeks to unite Africans, Africans in the diaspora and people from all over the world in a celebration of the continent and its talent.

Africa Day commemorates the foundation in 1963 of the Organisation of African Unity, the forerunner to the African Union. The pan-African body originated in the decolonisation struggles of the early 1960s.

The Lagos venue in Victoria Island also had artists from South Africa, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zucha (seen below) from Tanzania:

The concert ended with Nigerian superstar Davido, who gave an electrifying performance:

To the delight of those gathered:

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Source: BBC News