Kendrick Lamar concert in Kigali kicks off drive to put Africa on the global gig circuit

Move Afrika, launched by grandson of Nelson Mandela, aims to draw on success of Afrobeats and support a new generation of musicians

It has been two decades since Nelson Mandela hosted the first of a series of concerts to raise HIV awareness. The 46664– his prison number – shows featured global stars including Beyoncé, Bono and Queen and were the inspiration for his grandson, Kweku Mandela to produce Move Afrika, a five-year project to establish an annual music tour on the continent. The goal to “promote health and equity, defend our planet, and create jobs and economic opportunity”.

“If you look at some of the largest touring artists in the world, often times their world tours are missing the African continent all together, or in certain cases they come and do one-off shows,” Mandela said. “We feel there is a great need for us to bring a robust touring circuit to the continent.”