Africa Day is a South African special live broadcast of the Africa Day celebration concert held in Johannesburg at Mary Fitzgerald Square.
Produced by SABC2 and Arts Alive and hosted by SABC2 and the City Of Johannesburg, the concert celebrates the 45th anniversary of Africa Day (25 May).
The concert aired live on SABC2 on Saturday 24 May 2008, from 20h00-22h30.
A rebroadcast of Africa Day aired on SABC2 on Wednesday 16 December 2009, at 22h00.
Synopsis
Africa Day was established by the then Organisation of African Unity (today known as the African Union), to acknowledge, showcase and celebrate the best of African history, heritage and culture.
The day represents African unity and during the weekend of festivities, the vibrancy and dynamism of African culture gets highlighted.
This year's celebrations begin with a free concert on Mary Fitzgerald Square on Saturday, 24th May 2008. The concert is then repeated on Sunday, 25 May 2008 at Mofolo Park in Soweto.
Artists in the line-up include: Senegalese troubadour Ismael Lo, Mozambiquean dub band 340ml, Chiwoniso of Zimbabwe, France-based Ivory Coast muso Dobet Gnahore, the Democratic Republic of Congo's Mapumba and South Africa’s Zonke.
The organizers will provide for the winter climate - blankets will be distributed to ensure that audiences keep warm and mbaula’s will be strategically set up.
In addition to the concerts, a number of other events form part of the Africa Day celebrations. They are:
An Arts and Crafts expo at the Museum Africa from 3-25 May.
Mofolo Park Arts Centre will host the Battle of the Bands on the 24 May. The winning group will perform at the Africa Day concert.
A youth weekend camp will be held in Alexandra from 23-25 May, hosted by the Alexander Renewal Project.
SABC Africa will host an African film festival at Sci-Bono in Newtown from 23-27 May.
The Mbali Project will host the Diepsloot Arts Africa Day textile fair.