Denis Opudo
The Best of Africa Awards ceremony is an event set aside for the celebration of important patriotic African contributors. It brings together individuals who promote ethical socio-economic development across Africa. Founded in 2011 the BOA will take place again in 2018 making the eighth year in a row event since its launch. The 2018 event will have winners in different categories. The winners will be announced at the award ceremony on 30th April 2018 in London.
The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Amina J. Mohammed will give a keynote during the event. British/Congolese comedian Eddie Kadi will be the host. The previous event has come out to be a success each and every year. They have gone ahead to recognize and bring out the current African story via sectors apart from sport and in regions beyond the United Kingdom. Rainbow Sports, Mishcon de Reya, and Polaris Media are the organizers of 2018 event.
The event gives Africans a chance to honor and celebrate the African’s highest contributors in professional media and sports. The dinner which will take place at the end of April will be used to celebrate and reward leaders in various important categories. The Baobab Award honors projects or organizations that have shown the biggest impact in the previous year. Moreover, there are Philanthropic Endeavour awards. The awards are used to honor Youth, Leadership, Community Action, Engagement, and Advocacy. The four awards are issued out to professional athletes who have stood out amongst the rest in every category.
Winners of each category will be decided by votes from representatives from The Guardian, Football Association, and Premier League. The 2017 event had African football luminaries like Andrew Ayew, Yaya Toure, Asamoah Gyan and Emmanuel Adebayor in the past. In 2017 leading African entrepreneur and patriotic Tsisi Masiyiwa gave the keynote speech. Saido Berahino, Lauren, and Victor Wanyama were some of the big names that graced the event.
