The African Union Commission, in partnership with the International Committee of All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) has formally unveiled the calendar of events for the 2022 annual edition of the awards ceremony.

The unveiling event took place at a world press conference on Thursday May 26, 2022 at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Media personnel and the general public were shown the line-up of preceding events before the main award ceremony starts from November 3 - 6, 2022.

Speaking on behalf of the African Union, Director for Social Development, Culture and Sports Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Cisse Mariama Mohamed said, “Africa remains resilient and progressive in everything, and this is why our entertainment sector continues to make such huge leaps globally. And at the forefront of this lies our resolve to unite the continent through entertainment. AFRIMA is committed to this mission, upholding this tradition of celebrating the scintillating musical culture of Africa by featuring exhilarating Pan-Africa events throughout the year. We are looking forward to celebrating the richness of the African continent alongside AFRIMA in November.”

Importantly, the calendar for the year begins with the entries of submission which starts Monday May 30, 2022 and closes on Friday August 5, 2022. The submissions can be done on behalf of the talents across the continent and in the diaspora, by their representatives (talent managers, record company personnel, producers, etc.). Also, the year-in-review for the entries is from August 20, 2021 to Friday August 5, 2022, implying that only entries created during that period will be valid.

Shortly after the submission of entries is the pre-screening process, which is to be held between the 5 and 8 August, 2022. During this process, entries will be vetted by a special committee at the International Secretariat of AFRIMA, and categorised in accordance with AFRIMA entry submission guidelines. The main screening process, which is tagged as the Adjudication process, will follow immediately from August 9 to 16, 2022. This process is undertaken by an International Jury of AFRIMA comprising a 13-man panel of experienced African music experts and practitioners drawn from the five regions of Africa and in the diaspora.

As the main awards ceremony edges closer, a world media announcement of the nominees will take place on Wednesday August 17, 2022 to publicly unveil the nominees. On Wednesday August 24, 2022, the AFRIMA Academy as well as music fans and followers around the globe will begin to participate in the public voting process to be conducted on AFRIMA's website, during which the nominees will receive votes that could lead them to emerging winners in the various categories of the awards. The voting process, which closes 24 hours before the awards ceremony, would be monitored and audited by a reputable international auditing firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Finally, the awards ceremony will be held from Thursday November 3 to Saturday November 6, 2022. It will feature a 3-day fiesta of music, glitz, and glamour. The event commenced with the welcome soiree, followed by the AFRIMA Music Village, the host city tour, African Music Business Summit, and the exclusive nominees' party and concluded with the live awards ceremony broadcast to over 84 countries around the world. African music lovers can take part in the events on social media, live stream on the AFRIMA website at www.afrima.org and visit the social media platforms (Instagram - Afrima.official/ Twitter - Afrimaofficial), and they can watch the event coverage by tuning in to their local and cable TV providers.

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