by Princess Ogono-Dimaro

African culture is deeply rooted in music. For a long time, there were no music festivals to connect the African diaspora to their roots. Smade and Obi Asika rose to the challenge and organized the first-ever Afronation music festival in 2019. Since then, the festival has been tagged “the biggest beach festival around the globe” and it covers R&B, dancehall, afrobeat, and hip hop genres.

The First Music Festival Was a Blast

More than 20,000 people gathered on the Portimao beaches of Portugal to celebrate the African Diaspora. It was a historic moment for people of African descent and featured live music from African countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and other countries like Jamaica, the US, and the UK.

The festival had international acts like Wizkid, Davido, Buju Banton, and Burna Boy. Other British artists like Ms. Dynamite, JHus, Stefflon Don, Ms. Banks, Octavian, and Mostack.

The founders of Afronation intended for it to be a gathering of people from different races to celebrate African culture. That was exactly what they got.  It was a huge success and surpassed the expectations of the founders. Several urban festivals had failed, but Afronation was a huge success.

Challenges Faced in 2020

While the inaugural festival was a hit, the second one faced a lot of challenges. The COVID pandemic hit the entire world and this festival was not spared. The organizers had to go back to the drawing table to restrategize. Sadly, the festival had to be canceled in 2020. The organizers announced in May 2020, that it was canceled and postponed the festival to July 2021.

The second festival was slated to take place in Portugal and large gatherings were banned by the government at the time. However, the organizers announced that tickets for the festival could be used in the following year and the statement didn’t provide information for refunds for attendees. This was met by backlash on several social media platforms such as Twitter. 

COVID Restrictions Led to Another Postponement of the Festival

The festival was hit by another challenge in 2021 and it had to be postponed to 2022. The organizers quoted COVID restrictions as the reason for the postponement and assured attendees that they are working with the Portuguese authorities to create a safe environment for the festival. Refunds were also issued to attendees who bought tickets previously. Some attendees decried the deductions after refunds and this caused some backlash on social media. 

However, the organizers are working hard towards replicating the success of the inaugural festival. The lineup for the next festival is expected to include big names like Chris Brown, Davido, Burna Boy, WizKid, Beanie Man, Skepta, Popcaan and so many others. 

Attendees can expect to enjoy the festival program alongside its side attractions like beach parties, boat parties, private bars, and dedicated areas for VIPs. The event is slated to take place in Praia da Rocha, Portimão. This festival has done a lot to promote afrobeat and African culture. It has helped drive the cultural shift among the African diaspora.