Lagos, Nigeria has officially been announced as the host city for the 2025 edition of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA).

The African Union Commission (AUC) and the international committee of AFRIMA made the announcement during a landmark event held on Tuesday, at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The ceremony, one of the biggest celebrations of African music and culture, is scheduled to take place from November 25 to 30.

This year’s edition is themed “Unstoppable Africa”, reflecting the resilience, growth and global influence of the continent’s music industry.

Angela Martins, director for social development, culture and sport at the African Union Commission, made the announcement alongside Jannet Hadadi from Morocco, a major player in music distribution and publishing in North Africa and the Middle East.

Martins praised Lagos for its consistency and excellence in hosting global events.

“I warmly congratulate the city of Lagos for being chosen to host AFRIMA 2025. The city truly reflects the spirit of African music — full of rhythm, creativity, and vibrant energy. Lagos has the right mix of modern facilities, good hospitality, strong media presence, and security and transport systems that make it ideal for hosting a major global event,” she said.

The 2025 edition of AFRIMA is expected to draw over 1,600 nominees along with their teams, more than 60,000 visitors and delegates and over 2,300 production crew members. The live broadcast is projected to reach an audience of more than 400 million viewers around the world.

During the AFRIMA 2025 music conference held in Addis Ababa, it was announced that the entry submissions portal will open on May 27 and close on August 8.

African artistes, producers, songwriters and music professionals from across the continent and the diaspora are encouraged to submit their entries via the official portal at www.afrima.org.

The conference also featured two-panel sessions that explored the future of African music on the global stage.

Discussions covered areas such as monetisation, intellectual property protection, knowledge sharing, royalty systems, the intersection of media with technology, AI and the Internet of Things, as well as strategies for sustaining global collaborations.

Leading up to the main awards ceremony, the organisers also unveiled the AFRIMA 2025 calendar which includes a continent-wide and diaspora-focused #RoadToAFRIMA2025 tour.

The tour will begin in Morocco and make stops in Tanzania, Paris, Côte d’Ivoire and London before returning to Nigeria in Delta State. It will end in Namibia with a stop from October 31 to November 1.

The adjudication process will take place from August 12 to 19, while nominees will be announced at a world media conference scheduled for August 27.

Public voting will commence on September 5 and run through to November 28, ahead of the main awards.

AFRIMA awards week will kick off on November 25 and will include activities such as the Diamond Showcase, an Opening Soirée, the Africa Music Business Summit, the Music Icons’ Night, school outreach visits, the AFRIMA Music Village and Festival, a host city tour and a luncheon reception.

The celebration will culminate with the nominees and industry party, followed by the highly anticipated awards ceremony on Sunday, November 30.

The grand event will be broadcast live on 109 stations across 84 countries.