By Bontle Moeng
CELEBRATING Africa's abundance of artistic talent, the Kora All Africa Music Awards at the Sandton Convention Centre on Saturday 6 December will acknowledge musical excellence from across the continent.
The who's who of African music will perform at the event, showcasing the diversity of the musical genres alongside the unifying power of creativity.
The audience at the glittering evening will have the unique opportunity to see in one venue Macase and Douleur and Western Girls from Cameroon, Quartier Latin from the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Reggie Rock Stone from Ghana; Soum Bill from Ivory Coast; Suzanna from Cape Vrede and Notre Dame, De la Salette and Eben and Family from Gabon. Ludacris and Angie Stone from the US will also be performing.
South Africans to take the stage include Ihashi Elimhlophe, Given Mabena and Drop the Debt.
The pan-African awards, including countries of the African Diaspora such as the US and Cuba, was initiated by Ernest Adjovi, the current executive producer of the event, to promote African artists internationally, to unite Africa through music and art, and to portray a positive image of the continent.
Now in its ninth year, the awards ceremony will be broadcast to 76 countries, including the US and Canada.
This year 23 awards will be presented including for Life Time Achievement. Previous winners in this category were Alpha Oumar Konare (2002), Graca Machel (2001), Kofi Annan (2000), Michael Jackson (1999), Nelson Mandela (1998) and Miriam Makeba (1997)
This year, the Life Time Achievement Award will be given to an artist or music executive who has made a difference in the music industry internationally, while the African Legendary Award will be awarded to that person who has taken the African continent forward, culturally and politically.
Nominations for the Kora awards are submitted from around the world and a selection committee, based in Johannesburg, then chooses between four to six artists in each category. The final panel of judges, from key geographic regions in Africa and elsewhere, assess the entrants according to the predetermined categories. An international auditing firm supervises the adjudication process.
Winners will be announced on Saturday night during the broadcast.
Last year's winners included South African singer Judith Sephuma for Best Female African Artist and Best Southern African Artist and the DRC's Koffi Olomidè for Best African Male Artist.
Reserved bookings for Saturday's event can be made by calling Lloyd on 011 880 8820. Seating at the Platinum tables costs R20 000 for 10 people, or R2 000 per seat, while a Gold table will cost R10 000, or R1 000 per seat. Guests who have booked a table should be seated by 6pm, as dinner will be served.
Unreserved tickets are R200 and can be bought at Computicket. The event will take about two and half-hours, with no interval, and refreshments will be available at the venue. Computicket holders should be at the Sandton Convention Centre, Maude Street, Sandton, by 7pm.
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