The African Union Commission (AUC) and The International Committee of All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) said it has received a staggering number of 8,880 entries for the AFRIMA 2021 Awards at the close of submission of entries on August 20, 2021.

It noted that this all-time record is in spite of the negative impact of COVID-19 on culture and creative industry, adding that the number of entries is the highest since the inception of the continental awards in 2014, which is 8.86% higher than the 2019 edition.

Now in its eighth year, AFRIMA, the ultimate recognition of African music globally honours African artistes, music producers, songwriters, video directors, Disc Jockeys, choreographers/dancers, and movie/film producers living on the continent or in Diaspora as well as international acts with the 23.9 carat gold-plated AFRIMA trophy.

This year’s entries were received from 50 African countries across the five regions of Africa and 10 countries from Europe and North America, including Spain, United Kingdom, United States of America, France, Portugal, among others.

“The increased interest in the awards is a clear indication that AFRIMA, a platform of bringing Africans together through the instrumentality of music and culture, is growing immensely across Africa and globally, which is a very important goal for us. Also, it is a signal that artists and actors in the music industry are becoming resilient in the face of global challenges,” says the Head of Culture, African Union Commission (AUC), Angela Martins.

Entries for the longest-running African continental awards in the last decade, which opened worldwide to artistes on June 1, 2021 and closed on August 20, 2021, is higher than 2019 submissions of 8,157. The award could not hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The AFRIMA Head of Communication and Partnership, Zineb Seyad, stated: “We are encouraged by the number of entries received for the 2021 AFRIMA. Of the 8,880 entries submitted this year; West Africa leads the pack with 30.4% of the total entries followed by Eastern Africa with 28.8%, Southern Africa with 22.9%, Central Africa and North Africa and International acts have 12.3%, 4.9% and 0.7% respectively.

Recall that The International Jury of AFRIMA announced additional three new categories for 2021 edition, which included Best Soundtrack in a movie/series/documentary film, Best Global Act, and Breakout Artiste of the Year (Renaming Most Promising Artist).

Following the end of the AFRIMA 2021 entry submission, a 13-man International Jury of AFRIMA would arrive Lagos on August 29, 2021 for the weeklong adjudication process.

The AFRIMA jury’s responsibility involves screening, categorizing, assessing, grading, and selecting the nominees into the 40 different regional and continental awarding categories.

After this process is concluded, the 2021 Nominees’ List would be unveiled during a World Media Conference in the second week of September, 2021, while public voting will follow immediately.

AFRIMA called on followers and fans of African music to catch up with updates on AFRIMA website,www.afrima.org, its social media platforms, @afrimawards and all broadcast affiliates to know who this year’s Nominees’ finalists will be and for more information about the awards ceremony, which will take place in November 2021.

All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC), is the ultimate recognition of African music globally.