Inaugural Giants Of Africa Festival Unveils Inaugural Lineup

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Giants of Africa, a not-for-profit that is dedicated to enriching the life of African youth through sports, announced the lineup for its inaugural festival taking place in Kigali, Rwanda from Aug. 13-19. Diamond Platnumz, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Tyla and more will all be appearing at the festival.

Giants of Africa celebrates its 20th anniversary, the festival bringing together more than 250 youth from 16 countries. The opening ceremony celebration kicks the festival off on Aug. 13, and will be hosted by award-winning sportscaster Carol Tshabalala. Sherrie Silver will be choreographing the event, which will include a performance from Diamond Platnumz and sounds from Massamba Intore.

The opening ceremony, closing concert, and championship games will all take place at BK Arena and are open for the public to attend.

The closing concert, presented by Spotify, will then take place on Aug. 19 with performances from Davido, Tiwa Savage, Bruce Melodie and Tyla.

“The Giants of Africa Festival represents a momentous milestone for our organization — we will celebrate 20 years of empowering youth and we will honor the incredible communities that have welcomed us,” Masai Ujiri, co-founder of Giants of Africa and vice-chairman and president of the Toronto Raptors, said in a statement. “We are honored to have artists including Davido, Tiwa Savage, Diamond Platnumz and more join us for the opening ceremony celebration and closing concert, as we believe their performances will further ignite the spirit of the Festival and uplift the aspirations of the local youth in attendance.”

On Aug. 12, the festival will be hosting an International Youth Day Forum, sponsored by Dani Reiss and in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Imbuto Foundation, to bring together 2000 Rwandan youth. Guest speakers will include Lt. Gen (Ret’d) Romeo Dallaire, founder of the Daillaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security and UN Force Commander during the Rwanda Genocide, as well as Ishmael Beah, international bestselling author, advisor to the Dallaire Institute and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

In addition to Spotify and the Toronto Raptors, partners for the festival include RwandAir, Kensington Tours, IAMGOLD, Sport Court International, LLC, DHL Express Canada, Visit Rwanda, Ministry of Sports, Dani Reiss, All One Fund, Jess & Scott Lake and October’s Very Own.

On Aug. 18, the Boys Championship Game, Girls Championship Game and All-Star Game will take place.

Tickets for the festival go on sale starting June 22 at 10 a.m. Central Africa Time via www.GOAFestival.org.