The International Committee of All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) says a total of 9,076 entries have been received for possible nominations at the 2022 edition of the awards ceremony.
Chinonso Ihekire, Communications Manager, AFRIMA, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
“AFRIMA in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC) is pleased to announce a total of 9,076 entries received for possible nominations at the 2022 edition of the awards ceremony.
“This is the highest number of entries received by the awards body, since its inception in 2014,” he said.
Ihekire said that the figure, which was garnered from entertainers across all five African regions, Europe and North America, represented a 2.2 percentage increase from the 8,880 entries recorded in the 2021 edition.
He noted that the entries submission began on May 30 and closed by midnight on August 5.
“Interestingly, from the array, Eastern African region led the trail with 2,890 entries, representing 31.8 per cent; while West African region followed closely with 2,863 entries, representing 31.5 per cent; and Southern African region joined in the race with 1,659 entries, representing 18.2 per cent.
“Central Africa comes fourth with 941 entries, representing 10.3 per cent; complementing the 373 entries from Northern African entertainers who represented 3.8 per cent, while the remaining 349 entries from the diaspora represented 4.1 per cent of all total submissions,” he said.
According to him, in line with the AFRIMA 2022 calendar, a 13-member jury is expected to arrive Lagos on August 11, for an eight-day adjudication process that will select the nominees across all existing categories.
He said the jury was composed of seasoned experts across all five regions in the African music industry, as well as the diaspora, specifically North America and Europe.
He noted that a world media announcement of the nominees would take place on Aug. 22 to publicly unveil the nominees.
“On Monday August 29, 2022, the AFRIMA Voters Academy, as well as music fans and followers around the globe will begin to participate in the public voting process, which will be held on the AFRIMA website www.afrima.org.
“Nominees with the highest votes will emerge winners in their respective categories.
“The voting process, which closes 24 hours before the awards ceremony, will be monitored and audited by a reputable international auditing firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
“The AFRIMA awards ceremony will feature a 4-day fiesta of music, glitz, and glamour,” he said.
Ihekire said that the event was scheduled to commence with the welcome soiree, followed by the AFRIMA Music Village, the host city tour, African Music Business Summit, and the exclusive nominees’ party and concluded with the live awards ceremony broadcast to over 84 countries around the world.
“African music lovers can take part in the events on social media, live stream on the AFRIMA website at www.afrima.org and visit the social media platforms (Instagram – Afrima.official; Twitter – Afrimawards).
“They can watch the event coverage by tuning in to their local and cable TV providers,” he said.
Hadja Kobele, AFRIMA Juror representing the diaspora, North America, said: “This development is a clear indicator that AFRIMA is the pinnacle of African music globally.
“And Africans value the importance of celebrating themselves, as culture remains one of our strongest tools for global unification, as well as economic growth.”
AFRIMA is a youth-focused music platform that recognises and rewards the work and talents of African artistes across generations and primarily stimulates conversations among Africans, and the rest of the world.
This is most especially on the potential of the creative arts for fostering real human enterprise, contributing significantly to social cohesion, as well as sustainable development in Africa.