Mohalenyane Phakela
VICTORIA Hotel in Maseru will this afternoon be transformed into a sea of colour as Africans come together to commemorate Africa Day in an elegant ceremony aimed at building tolerance and unity among various nationalities in the country.
Dubbed One Africa, the event is the brainchild of events company, Papatso Exposee and it will provide various nationalities with a platform to showcase their cultural products through regalia and cuisine.
There will be stalls displaying clothes and food from the participating countries and there will also be performances from a Cameroonian band as well as Maniacs and Mookho.
Africa Day celebrations are held annually on the continent on 25 May to commemorate the founding of the African Union (formerly the Organisation of African Unity).
The AU was founded on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to promote among other things the fight for the independence of African countries from colonial rule.
Papatso Exposee representative, ‘Mateboho Du Vivier this week told the Weekender that all was set for the event with more performances to be expected.
“We have finalised everything we needed for the event and we are waiting for Thursday (today) 12 noon so we can start having fun,” she said.
“We had indicated that we would have Senqu Jazz Band as one of the entertainers but due to unavoidable circumstances we had to replace them with Maniacs and Mookho. The Cameroonian band will still be performing with more surprise performances from local bands.”
This will be the second edition after the first in 2015 which attracted 15 African countries through their associations in Lesotho.
“We have so many expatriates from other continents who have bought tickets for the show but we are mostly humbled by the response of the Chinese as they will be coming in large numbers,” Du Vivier said.
