KENDRICK LAMARZUCHU, BRUCE MELODIE AND MORE CHANGE THE GAME FOR LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AT RWANDA
The first ‘Move Afrika’ event engaged more than 1,000 Rwandans to drive financial investment in Rwandan production and entertainment houses, women-owned businesses and young entrepreneurs
KIGALI, Rwanda, December 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The first ever Move Africa event, held tonight at Kigaliit didn’t feel like any live show Rwanda has seen before. It hosts a light-filled, sold-out BK Arena Moving Africa: Rwandaa spectacular night of music, culture and advocacy that took East African entertainment to new heights and will be remembered for years to come as the birth of the first pan-African touring circuit for international artists.
Created by an international advocacy organization Global citizen and creative imprint, pgLangalongside the Rwanda Development Boardthe inauguration Moving Africa: Rwanda The show was headlined by the Grammy Award, Pulitzer Prize winning artist Kendrick Lamar, and showcased the best African artists, creators and entertainers in the world. With every aspect of the event’s production driving local economic investment, skills training and youth entrepreneurship, the first Move Africa the concert marked the start of a five-year touring program that will spearhead a world-renowned music tour across the continent, changing the face of live entertainment in Africa.
Bruce Melody opened the night with a powerhouse performance that included smash hits ‘Katerina’, ‘When She’s Around’ and ‘Henzapu’. Rwandan poet Fred Furanzima treated the audience to a spoken word performance of his moving poem, ‘The Unstoppable Sea’.
HE Paul Kagame, its President Rwandatook the stage, saying “There are many things we can tackle together. Working together, our continent stands strong and can meet most of our challenges. We look forward to hosting global citizens every year, here at Kigali, through Move Afrika. I hope you all feel at home, and I hope to see you again in the near future.”
Zuchu burst onto the stage with a high-octane rendition of her hits including ‘Kwikwi’, ‘Honey’ and ‘Utaniua’. Sherrie Silver brought the arena to life with more than 40 young singers, dancers and breakdancers from the Sherrie Silver Foundation, taking the audience on an unforgettable journey into Rwandan dance culture. DJ TOXXYK and Ariel Weiss teamed up for a medley of hits including “Tattoo” and “You Should Know,” and Ariel Wayz surprised the crowd by bringing out the Rwandan rappers Kivumbi King and Bruce The 1st to collaborate on ‘Demo’.
Kendrick Lamar brought the sold out crowd to their feet for an unforgettable performance, with a setlist that included his entire catalog, playing with local Rwandan dancers to ‘Blacker The Berry’, ‘Count Me Out’ and ‘Savior’.
“Global Citizen and pgLang launched Move Afrika to pioneer a first-of-its-kind international music tour circuit across the continent Africa. We are honored to host the first event here Kigali at the BK Arena,” he said Hugh EvansCo-Founder & CEO, Global Citizen. “This is just the beginning. The real work starts tomorrow. Thank you for being on this journey at Move Afrika.”
Moving Africa: Rwanda Highlights and performances from the show will be part of a special broadcast, which will be released worldwide in early 2024.
Moving Africa: Rwandain partnership with global production company Done and Dusted and the Rwanda Events Group, employed more than 1000 Rwandans and hired 75 percent local crew and production staff, with a particular focus on creating skills development and training opportunities at international events such as;
- Scenery and Scenery: The Move Africa: Rwanda The scenery and set design was created by Stufish in close collaboration with a local artist Dolph Banza. Together they created an ensemble that evokes traditional Kitenge fabric designs.
- Nyamirambo Women’s Centre: Traditional Agaseke peace baskets, created by 20 artisans from the Nyamirambo Women’s Center, were repurposed to hang across the stage as dynamic light fixtures, creating the central feature of Move Afrika: Rwanda stage and showcasing Rwanda’s creative excellence to the world.
- Broadcast production: Rwandan film crew Addictive Vibe filmed the scenes and graphics company Guez Show created the video packaging.
- Crew, rigging and safety: Through an on-site skills training partnership between Rwanda Events Group and world-renowned riggers from Unusual Rigging, a new, larger capacity ceiling was installed at the BK Arena for maximum audience experience. In addition, world-class security training was provided to 15 supervisors and event managers by Behavioral Detection Observation (BDO).
- Principal Dancers and Singers: Over 70 local singers and dancers participated in Move Afrika: Rwanda stage, with additional dancers and choreographers contributing to the international show which will be released early next year. Dancers from the Sherrie Silver Foundation performed alongside Kendrick Lamar during his headlining set. Many of them come from disadvantaged backgrounds and poor communities and have used their talents and creativity to lift their families out of poverty.
- Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator: Move Afrika partnered with the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator in Kigali to recruit, train and upskill 35 young people aged between 18-25 who received on-the-job training and event visitation teams through the project to gain work experience at a world-class live music event.
- Masterclass of filmmakers: More than 15 filmmakers participated in a marketing and social media masterclass, in partnership with the Rwanda Film Office and the Rwanda Development Board, which provided critical tools to amplify local stories.
As part of its five-year commitment to Rwanda, Move Africa builds on these partnerships to create long-term opportunities for local entrepreneurs and foster long-term partnerships that pave the way for more international artists to appear in Rwanda.
“We see this event as the beginning of a promising journey for our industry,” he said Christian GakwayaManaging Director, Rwanda Events Groupa basic Move Afrika: Rwanda Supplier. “With our talented crew and creative minds, combined with increased international exposure and further investment in equipment and skills, we can certainly take our rightful place as a world leader in events.”
With a particular focus on investing in young Rwandans who strengthen their country, Moving Africa: Rwanda provided over 4000 free tickets to young people including:
- Over 500 Rwandan youth, NGOs, civil society workers who joined Umuganda’s efforts to plant more than 1000 trees on Mount Rebero last month.
- 30 community health care workers attended to highlight the campaign’s focus on health equity and access for all Rwanda;
- 200 young people between the ages of 16-21 from four regions were given an all-expenses-paid trip to a first-stage Move Afrika experience, courtesy of pgLang.
- Local and regional fashion designers were showcased as part of a three-day pop-up fashion market during Move Afrika: Rwanda Showcase Week, creating economic opportunities for local creatives, promoting job creation and promoting cultural integration through the living tapestry of African fashion and design.
“We know what it’s like to not have access, so we wanted to make sure that the young people across the street Rwanda had the opportunity to experience the first Move Afrika event in Kigali,” he said pgLang.
His associates Move Africa they include pgLang, Rwanda Development Board and TimesLive. The event is sponsored by BK Arena.
Move Afrika: A global citizen experience is part of a new long-term, large-scale effort to pioneer a first-of-its-kind international music tour across the continent Africa, with pgLang serving as the tour’s curator. In collaboration with the Rwanda Development Board, Kigali, Rwanda will host Move Africa every year for the next five years. Each year, additional countries will be added to the tour schedule, which aims to expand to five countries by 2025. Creating a world-class experience for fans and artists, Move Africa will set a new gold standard for entertainment touring events, increasing demand for international and local artists to tour the region and building local capacity in host cities across the continent.
Move Africa builds on previous Global Citizen campaigns and events across the continent that include: World Civic Festival: Mandela 100which brought Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Ed Sheeranusher, Eddie Vedder and Chris Martin of Coldplay to Johannesburg, South Africa in 2018; Global Citizen Live: Hare which featured Davido, Femi Kutiand Tiwa Savage in By Fela Kuti New African Temple in 2021. and World Civic Festival: Extremeswhich brought Usher, SZA, Stormzy and TEMS to the iconic Black Star Square in 2022.
Move Afrika is supported by Alimba, African Food Fellowship, Amahoro Builders, Blue Oceans, Chancen International, Dukataze SAYE Company Ltd., EcoRota Rwanda, Future First Kenya, Gashora Girls Academy of Science and Technology, Safi LifeSmallStepsEveryday, Solid’AfricaRwanda Development Organisation, Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, Inkomoko, Partners In Health, Restless Development, Rising Above the Storms (RAS), Rotary International, The Green Protector, YouthConnect Africa Hub, Westerwelle Foundation and Ineza Umuhoza GraceCo-founder of the Loss and Damage Youth Coalition and winner of the 2023 Global Citizen Award.
Global Citizen is grateful for the support of leading media companies including: AIM Group, Arena Holdings, Bella Naija, City Radio, Eagle Production, Ltd., EIB Network, Radio 1, Radio Flash, Royal FM, The New Times, UpScale Media , Vanguard Media and Zikoko.
For more information visit moveafrika.org.
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SOURCE Global Citizen