France President, Emmanuel Macron, will make an official visit to Lagos, Nigeria on Tuesday, July 3rd 2018, during which he will announce the launch of the Season of African Cultures 2020, a French celebration of Africa’s rich and diverse cultures, as part of a cultural event organised by TRACE and sponsored by Ecobank, Africa’s leading pan-African bank.

TRACE Event, the event department of global broadcast and digital Afro-urban media group TRACE, was chosen to host and organise the high-profile meeting between representatives of Africa’s creative industries and the President of France, thanks to its strong track record of producing large scale entertainment events on the continent, The media group also has a long-standing role as a cultural bridge between France, Africa and the rest of the world. Entitled A Celebration of African Culture, the event will take place at the New Afrika Shrine, the home of the legendary Nigerian musician Fela Kuti.
Co-founder and Executive Chairman of TRACE, Olivier Laouchez, explained that "TRACE's mission is to support, nurture, cherish and celebrate Afro-urban music and cultures and to bring them to the world, because we believe that the world can only benefit from a better understanding of the richness and the diversity of these cultures, which have long been undervalued.
"It is for this reason that we have organised this momentous event, to launch the Season of African Cultures 2020 in France. One of the objectives of this season is to change the French perception of the African continent through the promotion of contemporary African creation, and this is what TRACE strives to do every day," he said.

Over a thousand VIP guests, including representatives from the African creative and arts sectors have been invited to attend the multicultural event, with music provided by an almost exclusively female line-up featuring pan-African queen of Afro-pop Yemi Alade, Franco-Nigerian singer Asa, and Cameroon’s Charlotte Dipanda. They will be joined by leading performer Femi Kuti, son of Fela Kuti and the New Afrika Shrine’s patron. The evening is set to be a celebration of Africa’s diverse and rich cultural heritage and will honor young creators from the worlds of art, design, fashion, and African cinema, with a Nollywood scene being filmed live on the night by renowned Nigerian Film Director, Kunle Afolayan.

Commenting on the sponsorship, Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria, Charles Kie, said Ecobank was proud to support such a noteworthy event that perfectly synchronises with the Bank’s ongoing and strategic intent to support and develop economic growth and financial integration in Africa.

“Ecobank is delighted to be sponsoring this showcasing and celebration of the growing universal impact of African culture,” he said. “Sustainable economic growth is essential to increase our continent’s global competitiveness thereby improving standards of living and prosperity for all Africans. It is fantastic to see that Africa’s burgeoning creative industries are playing their full part in doing this by entertaining and attracting the global audiences that will in turn help increase both international interest and investment in African nations and businesses to the benefit of all.”