Access Bank, One of Nigeria’s foremost financial institutions, on December 16, 2018, celebrated the maiden edition of the Born in Africa Festival (BAFEST).

The festival which was held at the Eko Atlantic City, had over 25,000 people in attendance.

Social media has been abuzz with tweets and pictures from fans at the venue.

Over 300,000 tweets and Instagram posts were shared between 12 noon on Sunday 16th and 4am on Monday 17th reaching over 3 Million individuals with the #BAFEST2018 and #BorninAfricaFest hashtags.

Attendees were treated to about 19 hours of non-stop quality African-themed entertainment, with art exhibitions, fashion shows, film screenings, and all culminating in a jaw-dropping music and runway infused concert!

Art lovers admired contemporary artworks exhibited by some of Africa’s most talented visual artists; Tolu Aliki, Uche Edochie, Ibe Ananaba, Isaac Emokpae, Olumide Onadipe, and Obi Chigozie.

At the creative park, enthusiastic fashion lovers were not left out, as there were cutting edge styles on display from designers like Torlowei, Tiffany Amber, Blingshiki and David Tlale.

20 intriguing short films were screened throughout the day, as film lovers sat comfortably in the BAFEST screening room.

BAFEST 2018 was a great avenue for networking, as friends reconnected and families bonded over food and drinks from the food court, games, exhibitions, and much more.

One of the spectacular highlights of the night was the aerial drummers’ performance which featured 10 drummers and an aerial dancer suspended 150 feet above the ground level.

The stunning opener to the concert was a sight to remember, as attendees were left astounded.

Another major highlight of the night was the giveaway by Kia Motors, as a brand new Kia was given to a lucky attendee.

The attendee, who participated in the BAFEST treasure hunt, was presented with the keys to her brand new car at the festival.

Falz the Bahd Guy opened the show with an energetic performance of his hit songs, as supermodels simultaneously blazed the stage with designs by South Africa’s David Tlale.

The rollercoaster of performances had only just taken off when Olamide, Kizz Daniel, Yemi Alade, Congo’s finest, Awilo Longomba, Tiwa Savage, Burna Boy, D’Banj and South Africa’s Sho Madjozi took guests on a journey with their energetic performances.

The renowned international dancer and choreographer, Diddi Emah flew in from the U.S to thrill fans with titillating dance routines.

Diddi, who had previously worked with Beyonce, Missy Elliot, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar and other international stars, expressed how excited she was to be performing at one of Africa’s biggest festivals and thanked the awesome crowd for the warm reception.

Hosts of the festival, Shody the Turnup King and the Real Energy Gad Do2dtun, did a fantastic job getting the crowd hyped from the beginning of the show till the end. DJ Crowd Kontroller was on the wheels of steel.

In his closing remarks at the festival, Livespot’s Executive Creative Director, Darey Art Alade thanked everyone for attending and announced that the world should look forward to a bigger 2019 edition.

He also showed appreciation to Access Bank for establishing and supporting the Born in Africa Festival, while also thanking other supporting sponsors, Tiger Beer, Pepsi, Martell, Eko Atlantic, and Kia Motors.

Herbert Wigwe, Group Managing Director and CEO, Access Bank, closed the event, saying, “We at Access Bank have always been committed to driving innovation, supporting creative talents, and retelling the African story.

“It is time we let the world know that there is so much to celebrate in Africa.

“Born in Africa Festival is one of the ways of demonstrating our commitment and we are glad it was a huge success.”