Big acts unite for Africa at Home COVID-19 virtual concert

The concert, which will broadcast exclusively on Canal+ Afrique, will feature live performances by 82 African musicians playing from their homes. 

The event aims to encourage people to take action against the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) by staying home. 

Some of the acts listed to perform include Yemi Alade (Nigeria), Magic System (Ivory Coast), Serge Beynaud (Ivory Coast), Vegedream (Ivory Coast),  and Kiff No Beat (DRC), Fally Ipupa (DRC), Singuila (DRC), Hiro, (DRC), Toofan (Togo), Locko (Cameroon), Didier Awadi (Senegal), Salif Keita (Mali), Angelique Kidjo (Benin) and Patience Dabany (Gabon).

The organisers said the event, which is made possible through a partnership with Universal Music Africa, would also see footballer Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast) and actor Michel Gohou (Ivory Coast) give "humorous performances as well as messages of hope amid the pandemic."

"All are prepared to remind as many people as possible of the importance of barrier measures and the precautions to take, and will also give their support to the medical world to combat this global pandemic together," the organisers said.

A recorded version of the event will be available to stream via Dailymotion. It will also air on Le Bouquet Africain through its platform +D'Afrique on 17 May. 

The Africa at Home event will take place ahead of the #IAmWAN virtual event on 25 May to commemorate Africa Day.

Meanwhile, Tanzanian singer Siti Amina of Siti and the Band will be launching a new song at a virtual concert that will be streamed via the Alliance Francaise Dar es Salaam Facebook page on 15 May 2020. The perfomance is sponsored by the French embassy in Tanzania and will take place at 4pm EAT. 

"I would like to invite everyone to watch my first live performance," Amina said. "l will lunch my new song live and will have a special guest performance. A big thanks to Alliance Francaise for supporting musicians in this difficult moment."