AFRIMA 2025

By Nehru Odeh

The African Union Commission (AUC) and the International Committee of Africa have awarded Lagos, one of Africa’s largest and most vibrant cities, the rights to host the 2025 edition of the prestigious All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA).

The entry submission portal for AFRIMA 2025 officially opens on May 27 and closes on August 8, 2025. The grand finale will take place between November 25 and 30, 2025, in Lagos, Nigeria.

The theme of this year’s event is ‘Unstoppable Africa,’ which was also one of the key elements revealed at the Addis Ababa parley.

By this, Lagos, the city of aquatic splendour, will welcome leading and budding African music superstars, creative industry professionals, international media, members of the diplomatic corps and fans of African music from around the world.

The African Union also revealed the much-awaited AFRIMA 2025 Calendar, detailing the events, key dates, and milestones that will lead up to the grand finale, at a landmark event held at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.

Angela Martins, Director for Social Development, Culture and Sport at the African Union Commission, alongside Janet Hadadi from Morocco, a key figure in music distribution and publishing in Northern Africa and the Middle East, announced Lagos as the host city for AFRIMA 2025.

While making the announcement, Martins said the state had consistently been an excellent host, noting that Lagos’ strong track record is a key reason the AU and the International Committee are confident it will once again deliver a world-class event.

“I warmly congratulate the city of Lagos for being chosen to host AFRIMA 2025.  The city truly reflects the spirit of African music, full of rhythm, creativity, and vibrant energy. Lagos has the right mix of modern facilities, good hospitality, strong media presence, and security and transport systems that make it ideal for hosting a major global event,” she said.

AFRIMA 2025 is expected to feature over 1,600 nominees, including their teams, over 60,000 visitors and delegates, more than 2,300 production crew members, and an audience of over 400 million viewers globally during the live broadcast.

At the unveiling, which took place at the AFRIMA 2025 Music Conference, the AUC and the International Committee announced that the entry submission for AFRIMA 2025 will officially open on May 27 and close on August 8, 2025.

Artists, producers, songwriters, and other music professionals from across the continent and diaspora are encouraged to submit their works via the AFRIMA digital portal.www.afrima.org.

The well-attended 2025 AFRIMA music Conference featured two explosive panel sessions with conversations centered around the future of African music in the world, monetization, skill acquisition and knowledge sharing, intellectual property regimes, royalty and collecting society, leveraging intersection between technology, AI, IOT and media, music beyond borders and sustaining global collaborations.

The calendar also outlines a series of major events leading up to the main awards ceremony, including country and city tours. The #RoadToAFRIMA2025 Tour will energise cities across Africa and the diaspora.

It will kick off in Morocco, then continue to Tanzania, Paris, Côte d’Ivoire, and London. The tour will return to Nigeria in Delta State before culminating in Namibia from October 31 to November 1.

The adjudication process will be held between  August 12 and 19. The World Media Conference announcing the 2025 nominees is scheduled for  August 27, while public voting will open on  September 5 and close on November 28,  2025.

The celebration will hit its peak during the AFRIMA 2025 Awards Week between November 25 and 30, with exciting events like the Diamond Showcase (Nov 25–27), Opening Soirée (Nov 26), Africa Music Business Summit (Nov 27–28), Music Icons’ Night (Nov 27), school visits and the AFRIMA Music Village/Festival, Host City Tour and Luncheon Reception (Nov 28) followed by the Nominees & Industry Party and ending with the Main Awards Ceremony on Sunday, November 30.

There will be a live broadcast on 109 stations in 84 countries across the world at the grand finale.