Star-Studded Music and Fashion Event to Feature Recording Artist Seal,
Model Tyson Beckford and More
WASHINGTON, June 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A popular international
music and fashion festival designed to showcase the positive elements and
major improvements across the African continent will make its U.S. debut
later this summer.
THISDAY, Africa's leading daily newspaper and multi-media resource, has
boldly revolutionized the means through which awareness for African issues
is generated through the creation of its third annual star-studded music
and fashion event. Themed "Africa Rising," this year's festival will focus
on finding "sustainable solutions" rather than simply identifying the
"problems" facing Africa. Following the overwhelming success of the
festival - which performed in Africa over the past two years and is making
its UK debut this year - Nigerian media mogul Nduka Obaigbena has now
exported his brainchild event across the Atlantic. On The heels of two July
events in Nigeria, the U.S. show will unfold on Friday, August 1 at the
Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts in downtown Washington, DC. With a
star-studded lineup of performing artists and stars, this world-class
festival is designed to communicate positive images of Africa by showcasing
the renaissance of Africa's music, fashion and the arts. The continent's
culture will be on full display as patrons will live the true African
experience.
Confirmed headliners for the Kennedy Center event include Grammy Award
winning recording artist Seal along with American supermodel Tyson
Beckford. Additional A-list performers will be announced shortly for the
only North American stop in the series.
Other scheduled 2008 festival stops include Abuja, Nigeria (THISDAY
Dome, July 11th), Lagos, Nigeria (THISDAY Center, July 13th) and London
(Royal Albert Hall October 14th). Featured artists at this year's events
will include Jay-Z, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Fat Joe,
Naomi Campbell, Oluchi, Tyson Beckford, Youssou N'Dour, Liya Kebede, Alek
Wek, Ozwald Boateng, Chris Aire, 9ICE and Shank. Previous THISDAY events in
2006 and 2007 featured such performers as Lionel Richie, King Sunny Ade,
Diana Ross, Beyonce, Asa, Alicia Keys, P Diddy, Shakira, D'Banj, Snoop
Dogg, 2Face, John Legend, Missy Elliot, Ne-yo, Busta Rhymes, Ciara and
Kelly Rowland.
"Right now the international community seems to be dealing with the
symptoms not the problems of Africa," says Obaigbena. "The symptoms are
poverty and disease, but the problem is lack of social and physical
infrastructure. This initiative is to highlight the need to focus
sustainable solutions on the problems through massive investment in
infrastructure and microfinance in order to rebuild Africa from the ground
up. Europe is what it is today because after World War II the 'Marshall
Plan' took hold. It did not deal with poverty, it focused on rebuilding
Europe."
About "Africa Rising"
"Africa Rising" was first launched in 2006 under the direction of
THISDAY's Editor-in-Chief, Nduka Obaigbena. Its mission is not only to
reflect the culture and positive attributes of Africa's social, political
and economic progress, but also to reach out to the continent's diverse
population as well as the Diaspora and International communities.
About THISDAY
Leader's & Company Limited began trading in January 1995. Its flagship
newspaper, THISDAY, was first published on January 22, 1995. Despite
entering a crowded newspaper market, which was then home to more than 25
serious national dailies, 10 national news magazines and several
periodicals, THISDAY quickly established itself as Nigeria's premier
newspaper of record. In its first year of publication, it won the
prestigious Newspaper of the Year award, which it retained for three
consecutive years. Its editors and writers have also won several national
and international awards for news coverage, presentation and robust
commentary. Ever since its inception in 1995, THISDAY has fiercely guarded
the values of free enterprise, anchored on social justice and democracy.
Today, THISDAY has some 700 staff members in 38 offices across Nigeria.
It also maintains a bureau in Washington DC, from which it provides news on
Africa to a variety of global news organisations and agencies across all
platforms -- from online to broadcast. In Nigeria, THISDAY has a readership
of 5 million people. To learn more about THISDAY, please go to
http://www.thisdayonline.com.
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