By Seyi Babalola
The African Union (AU), in partnership with the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA), has announced that Lagos, Nigeria, will host the 2025 edition of the music awards.
Angela Martins, the African Union’s Head of Culture, made the news at the organization’s headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The awards ceremony, as well as side activities such as the lively Music Village Festival, are set for November 25-30, 2025.
Martins describes this year’s theme, “Unstoppable Africa,” as a reflection of the energy, brilliance, and dream of current African music that Lagos embodies.
“Music is not merely sound, it is a strategy. From Dar es Salaam to Acrra and other parts of the world, music flows like a river through our culture, and it connects, heals, and moves us forward,” Martins said, explaining the AU’s enduring partnership with AFRIMA.
The AFRIMA 2025 calendar starts with a call for entries on May 20, inviting submissions from African artists across the continent and the diaspora.
Artists can submit works across various categories and genres as part of this celebration of musical excellence, an initiative aligned with the AU’s Agenda 2063, which champions culture as a driver of development in Africa.
AFRIMA has served as a powerful platform for cultural exchange and continental integration.