One Africa Music Festival, the sold-out concert organised by Nigerian agency Upfront & Personal, on July 22, 2016, may have gulped up to one billion naira.
The event has come and gone, without anyone having a hint on how Paul Okoye and his team pulled off a big-budget international concert without any visible corporate sponsorship.
Until this week, when one project executive spoke with our journalists, asking to remain anonymous.
The concert, we’ve told, was completely sponsored by millionaire Okoye, who first came into national prominence as footballer Kanu Nwankwo‘s business partner.
‘He picked all the bills’, says our source. Accommodation for over 14 artistes and their crews, business class travel tickets from different countries, the cost of the venue Barclays Centre, event production, artiste fees, and other associated costs.
‘Some artistes gave good discounts because of his relationship with them’, Nigerian Entertainment Today gathered. ‘Others took their full fees. But everyone came and left happy’.
We have now been told Okoye and his team are working for another edition.
It reportedly costs about $103,000 (about N33.1m) to hire the Barclays Centre for the concert of such calibre. And it’s the first time a Nigerian organisation is pulling off such experiment.
How did the funds come about? No one can say. But insiders assure us ‘it was worth the spend’.
‘The exchange rate proved a little problem, as well as uncertainties whether the venue would fill to capacity. But once the publicity picked up and all the major radio stations jumped on it, we were sure we were making history.’
Paul Okoye’s companies deal in media buying, talent management, celebrity marketing and productions. Through his Upfront and Personal Company, he has gotten many Nigerian artistes to sign endorsement deals with telecommunication companies.
Nigerian pop star Wizkid was the star of the show, along with Davido, Timaya, Seun Anikulapo-Kuti, Flavour, Tiwa Savage, Stonebwoy, and others.
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