Felabration, the annual festival of music and arts commemorating the life and times of Africa’s foremost musical icon, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.
This year’s edition themed, ‘Fight to Finish, Fight to Win’ is scheduled to hold virtually from 15 to 17 October.
Due to the COVID-19 realities, the organizers decided to go ahead with the event, adapting to the “new norm.” Felabration 2020 will be running for three days, (not for a week as in the past) on different internet platforms that include, Zoom, Facebook, Youtube, Hip Tv and others.
The list of artists billed to perform are Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti, Wizkid, Tu Baba, Falana Music, Bez, Niniola, Joeboy, Antibalas, WurlD and several other acts.
Felabration 2020 kicks off with its traditional symposium at 5pm WAT, where Africans, opinion leaders and diaspora representatives discuss current burning issues that affect the continent. The opening event titled ‘Colomentality’ will be hosted by Vincent Magombe, a Ugandan journalist and broadcaster, also renowned African affairs analyst, with a track record as an Africa-focused research consultant.
The speakers at the Felabration Symposium are Arikana Chihombori, the former Permanent Representative to the African Union Mission in Washington DC, a public speaker, educator with a fierce critique of the North-South divide and imbalance, a filmmaker and a producer from South Africa, Kweku Mandela and Dele Farotimi, a lawyer, author and a member of Citizens Rally Against Oppression.
Over the years, the Felabration Symposium has attracted some of the best minds on the African continent, including, Chimamanda Adichie, Akin Oyebode, Patrick Lumumba, Femi Falana, Bobi Wine and many others.
Felabration 2020 is the culmination of an array of events preceding the festival itself, an arts competition, High School debate and dance competition, which was already concluded and winners were declared online. There is also the ‘Dress like Fela Challenge’ festival where Fela Kuti impersonators vie for the grand prize of fifty thousand naira (100 EURO).
Felabration has featured music greats since its inception in 1998 including Hugh Masekela, Asa, King Sunny Ade, Awilo Longomba, 2 Baba, Lucky Dube, Majek Fashek, Newen Afrobeat, Lagbaja, Wizkid, Burna Boy and many more.
Meanwhile, Kuti’s Bistro hosted a pre-Felabration party at Bolivar, Lekki last Sunday. Seun Kuti and Made Kuti lit up the stage, the afrobeat successors held a brief jam session of Seun and Fela’s tunes with the Egypt 80 band to the delight of friends and Lagos afrobeat fans.
You can Join the Felabration Symposium here