In less than 48 hours, more than 55 global celebrities will touch down in Kigali, where they will attend and perform at the Trace Awards and Festival, the biggest music event to stage in East Africa, and so far, the first event to attract a big number of mega music celebrities in the capital of Rwanda.

The highly anticipated three-day festival will take place at Kigali Convention & Exhibition Village (KCEV) on October 20-22, while the Trace Awards, which is the highlight of the festival, will stage on Saturday, October 21, at BK Arena.

The event is also in line with the 20th anniversary of Trace, the global music powerhouse and Afro-music tastemaker, which has played a big role in boosting Africa’s music industry in the last two decades and the biggest export of Afro-music.

ALSO READ: Yemi Alade, BNXN, Olamide, Musa Keys, Fireboy DML, and many others join Trace Awards line-up

Hosted by one of the pioneers of the Afrobeats genre, Dbanj, and Angolan supermodel Maria Borges, Trace Awards will be headlined by Africa’s finest musicians including Davido, Asake, Olamide, Kiss Daniel, Rema, and Diamond Platnumz, all who are nominated in multiple categories of the awards.

How did the Trace Awards come to Rwanda?

In March 2022, Olivier Laouchez, the CEO and co-founder of Trace Music Group, visited Rwanda with his team, where they checked out different facilities, including BK Arena, to assess the possibility of bringing the awards to Rwanda.

Laouchez, through his Instagram, expressed his appreciation for the facilities in Rwanda, particularly BK Arena, pointing out that the group would wish to host the first edition of the awards which will recognise African artistes in different genres.

VIDEO: How will Rwanda benefit from hosting Trace Awards and Festival?

The decision to bring the highly anticipated event to Rwanda, Laouchez said, was triggered by the fact that the event landed on huge partnerships and sponsorships deals from big companies in Rwanda like Rwanda Development Board (RDB), RwandAir, Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA), BK Arena and many others.

Trace Awards impact on Rwanda

On Tuesday, October 17, during a press briefing that was held in Rwanda, Laouchez said that the visibility that Rwanda has so far received for hosting the inaugural Trace Awards slated for Saturday October 21, is worth over $56 million media value.

The Trace co-founder said that the Trace Awards and Festival is a game-changing event for Rwanda&039;s tourism, seeing the media influence and value it has made before the main event.

"The value of the press that we now have before the actual event is over $56 million, and that means that Rwanda has been promoted at a cost of that amount. We are on track to a great and amazing event that will have a huge impact on African music," he said.

Earned media value is a free third-party promotion generated as a result of paid and owned media efforts, such as news articles, customer reviews, organic social posts mentioning brands and products, and word-of-mouth recommendations, among others.

The event's audience and social interaction are expected to exceed 500 million fans in 190 countries and more than 300 Rwandans were positively impacted by the Trace Awards and Festival, including people in the hospitality industry, local artistes, and sound engineers, among others.

Rwandan artistes, designers to shine at the Trace Awards and Festival

The awarding ceremony and festival has given a global promotional platform for Rwandan artistes, from local sound engineers of Alpha Sound which is the company in charge of the sound of the event, to local fashions designers and Rwandan artistes who have been nominated in awards categories, the creative sector will be well represented at the festival and awarding ceremony.

The likes of Bruce Melodie, Bwiza and Chriss Eazy, who are among the leading music stars in Rwanda, will share the stage with Nigeria’s Davido and Rema at the Trace Awards, with many other Rwandan artistes given a chance to shine at the Trace Festival including Maestro Boomin, Ish Kevin, Kenny K-Shot, Sema Sole, Angell Mutoni, Boy Chopper, Mike Kayihura, Tsonpa, Hottempah Collective, DJ Fans-T, DJ Higa, DJ Rusam, and DJ Ira.

ALSO READ: Davido, Asake, Tayc, Bwiza and Bruce Melodie among first performers at Trace Awards

Rwandan brands and creatives such as Haute Baso, Ashanti and Bibi Creations are also working with Trace to curate and create a special 3three-day cultural experience highlighting Rwandan creativity and talent.

Among the many Rwandan brands showcasing at the festival are Moshions, House of Tayo, Sonia Mugabo, Inzuki, KT'SOBtE, Maison Munezero, Uzi Collection, Rwanda Clothing, N'intoki, Ki-pepeo Kids, Wearfragile, Bibi Creations, Kalunza, Gahaya Links, Irebe, Mwinda, Tugirimana, Art Rwanda Ubuhanzi, KomezArt, Wood Habitat, Lisa Marler, Laini, In Wood, Mass Made, and Master Weavers.

Nominations

Rwandan artistes were recognised at the first Trace Awards as a tribute to the country for hosting the first kind of this event and among them is Bruce Melodie, Bwiza, Ariel Wayz, Kenny Sol and Chriss Eazy.

Leading the nominations are West African artistes, particularly Nigerian artistes, who underscore the global popularity of Nigerian Afrobeat with over 40 nominations in total, including multiple nominations for Burna Boy, Ayra Starr, Davido, WizKid, Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade, Fireboy DML and Rema.

ALSO READ: Five Rwandan artistes nominated for TRACE Awards

The contribution of female artistes is recognised in multiple categories including Best Female Artist, where Cape Verde’s Soraia Ramos is competing against Josey from the Ivory Coast, Senegal’s Viviane Chidid, Kenya’s Nadia Mukami and the double threat of Tiwa Savage and Arya Starr from Nigeria.

South African artistes make their mark in the nominations as well, with Hip Hop artist K.O scoring an impressive three nominations including Best Male, Song of the Year and Best Collaboration. Also honoured are Musa Keys (Best Live, Best Collaboration), and Blxckie (Best Music Video), while Pabi Cooper squares up against a strong field in the Best Newcomer award category.

The entire African continent will be represented by its best artistes at the TRACE Awards, showcasing the excellence and diversity of Afrocentric music in genres such Afrobeat, Dancehall, Hip Hop, Afro-pop, Mbalax, Amapiano, Zouk, Kizomba, Genge, Coupé Décalé, Bongo Flava and rap among many other genres.

Competing in 22 award categories are platinum-selling artists from more than 30 countries in Africa, South America, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and Europe including Algeria, Angola, Brazil, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Comoros, DRC, France, French Guiana, Gabon, Ghana and many other countries.

The winners will take home one or more Trace Awards Trophies - unique pieces of art designed by acclaimed Congolese sculptor and designer, Dora Prevost.

Launched in 2003, Trace is the first multimedia and digital platform in the world solely devoted to Afro-Urban music and cultures, as well as to the success of young people and artists. Trace reaches more than 350 million fans in 180 countries.