Davido’s concert in Kigali, March 2018
The inaugural Giants of Africa Youth Basketball Festival will feature a star-studded lineup of performers, the Giants of Africa announced today.
The highly anticipated festival, slated for August 13 to 19 in Kigali, Rwanda, will bring together over 250 youth from 16 countries in celebration of Giants of Africa’s 20th anniversary.
Among the artists confirmed to perform at the Giants of Africa festival are Davido, Tiwa Savage, Bruce Melodie, and Diamond.
The only events that will be open to the public are the opening ceremony on August 13, the boys’ and girls’ championship game and all-star game on August 18, and the closing concert on August 19. The BK Arena will serve as the venue for all three events.
The opening ceremony celebration will kick off the week with a parade of athletes from the 16 African nations taking part in the youth basketball festival, as well as a Tanzanian superstar Diamond Platnumz’s concert.
Massamba Intore, a Rwandan Gakondo artist, will also perform at the celebration, accompanied by a performance choreographed by Sherrie Silver.
The Giants of Africa Festival will conclude with a closing concert featuring a spectacular lineup of widely renowned artists and performers. Afrobeats icon Davido will grace the stage, and Tiwa Savage, the Nigerian singer-songwriter, will be joining him.
Rwanda’s Bruce Melodie and Tyla, a South African singer, will round out the all-star lineup.
The festival aims to unite and celebrate the upcoming generation of leaders in Africa with key themes such as basketball, education, culture, and entertainment. It is expected to foster youth campers’ basketball abilities and give them some key life skills.
During the week-long celebration, culture from the 16 participating countries will be showcased through food, music, art, and performances.
Youth campers will hail from Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Somalia, Uganda, Botswana, South Sudan, Morocco, Cameroon, and Mali.
The camps will be led by Giant of Africa and NBA coaches and personnel, as well as local coaches from the participating countries.
The champions of the Giants of Africa Festival 2023 will be decided by a three-day competition where campers compete for their nation.
Giants of Africa is an initiative co-founded by Masai Ujiri, the Vice-Chairman and President of the Toronto Raptors, in 2003 intending to use basketball to educate and enrich the lives of African youth, both boys and girls.
The programme was launched in Rwanda in 2015.
