Legendary Nigerian afrobeat musician, Femi Anikulapo-Kuti will be performing at the 32nd edition of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) opening ceremony in Egypt on Friday, June 21, 2019.
Two other musicians from Egypt and Ivory Coast – Hakim and Dobet Gnahore will be joining Femi Kuti to deliver top-notch performances at the ceremony.
The Afrobeat singer will perform in English, while Egyptian singer, Hakim and Ivorian singer, Dobet Gnahore perform in Arabic and French respectively.
African Football Community confirmed this in a post shared on their official twitter handle: “The AFCON Organizing Committee have chosen three international singers to perform the #AFCON2019 official song in the opening ceremony :
1️⃣ ?? “Hakim” (Arabic)
2️⃣ ?? “Femi Kuti” (English)
3️⃣ ?? “Dobet Gnahoré” (French)
The The AFCON Organizing Committee have chosen three international singers to perform the #AFCON2019 official song in the opening ceremony :
1️⃣ 🇪🇬 "Hakim" (Arabic)
2️⃣ 🇳🇬 "Femi Kuti" (English)
3️⃣ 🇨🇮 "Dobet Gnahoré" (French)#AFC pic.twitter.com/xuq3V5jceY— African Football Community (@AFConTW) June 18, 2019
Femi Kuti, a four-time Grammy award nominee in 2003, 2010, 2012 and 2013, is the eldest son of late Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti and a grandchild of Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, a political campaigner, women’s rights activist and traditional aristocrat.
Femi Kuti began his musical career playing in his father’s band, Egypt 80. In 1986, Femi started his own band, Positive Force, establishing himself as an artist independent of his father’s massive legacy.
The competition will be held from 21 June to 19 July 2019, according to the decision of the CAF Executive Committee on 20 July 2017 to move the Africa Cup of Nations from January/February to June/July for the first time. It will also be the first Africa Cup of Nations expanded from 16 to 24 teams.