Wednesday 25 August 2021: The African Union Commission (AUC) and The International Committee of All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) have received 8,880 entries for the AFRIMA 2021 Awards.

The organisers announced the figure after the close of submission of entries on 20 Aug. 2021.

The organisers in a statement said in spite of the negative impact of COVID-19 on culture and creative industry, the entries are a record since the inception of the awards in 2014.

It is 8.86 per cent higher than previous editions.

“This year’s entries were received from 50 African countries across the five regions of Africa and 10 countries from Europe and North America including Spain, U.K. , U.S., France, Portugal, among others.

“The increased interest in the awards is a clear indication that AFRIMA, a platform for bringing Africans together through the instrumentality of music and culture, is growing immensely across Africa and globally, which is a very important goal for us.

“Also, it is a signal that artists and actors in the music industry are becoming resilient in the face of global challenges,” Angela Martins, Head of Culture, African Union Commission, said.

The Head of Communication and Partnership, AFRIMA, Zineb Seyad, also said that AFRIMA is encouraged by the number of entries received for the 2021 edition.

“Of the 8,880 entries submitted this year, West Africa leads the pack with 30.4 per cent of the total entries followed by Eastern Africa with 28.8 per cent.

“Southern Africa with 22.9 per cent, Central Africa, North Africa and International acts have 12.3 per cent, 4.9 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively,” he added.

The International Jury of AFRIMA had earlier announced additional three new categories.

The new categories include Best Soundtrack in a movie/series/documentary film, Best Global Act, and Breakout Artiste of the Year (Renaming Most Promising Artiste).

The statement added that a 13-man International Jury of AFRIMA would subsequently arrive Lagos on Aug. 29 for the weeklong adjudication process.

“The AFRIMA Jury’s responsibility involves screening, categorizing, assessing, grading, and selecting the nominees into the 40 different regional and continental awarding categories.

“After this process is concluded, the 2021 Nominees’ List would be unveiled during a World Media Conference in the second week of Sept. 2021, while public voting will follow immediately,” it read.