The Lagos State Government on Thursday announced that the 2016 edition of its flagship Yuletide revue popularly known as the One Lagos Fiesta (OLF) will be bigger, better and bolder.
Addressing journalists at the Banquet Hall, Lagos House in Ikeja, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, said in line with the vision of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, the event would continue in its tradition of holding across the five zones as it held last year.
The zones are Ikeja (Agege Stadium), Badagry (Badagry Stadium), Ikorodu (Ikorodu Town Hall), Lagos Island (Bar Beach) and Epe (Epe Recreation Centre).
Mr Ayorinde said this year’s edition would stand out as instead of the five days that it held last December, it will run for eight days across all the zones, commencing from Christmas Eve on December 24 till the wee hours of the New Year.
He said the reason for the expanded fiesta was to keep Lagosians, especially the youths, happy and creatively busy.
“You will recall that we have just had a successful maiden edition of The Lagos Street Party (TLSP) last weekend, in which the popular Ahmadu Bello way in Victoria Island was turned into a carnival and concert ground.
“While TLSP delivered on its mandate to formally usher in the Yuletide season in Lagos and create an additional platform for creative enterprise to flourish, OLF will fulfill its traditional obligation of ending the year on an entertaining note and usher in the new year with fun and fanfare, while carrying along every part of the state in line with the governor’s electoral promise that no part of Lagos will be left behind,” the commissioner said.
Ayorinde said this year’s edition of the One Lagos Fiesta will also see the introduction of a talent hunt exercise tagged Lagos’ Got Talent, which according to him, seeks to discover, celebrate and reward exceptional talents among the youth or the young at heart in the areas of music, dance, comedy and other creative stunts.
Explaining how the talent hunt will run, Ayorinde said that interested participants can register online as well as at five designated zonal offices in the state
He said registration for the talent hunt show will run till Wednesday, December 14, while those selected from the audition will have an opportunity to perform at the OLF stage in each location with the two finalists from each zone slugging it out for the final showdown in Victoria Island on December 31.
“If you are talented in any of these areas and you are looking for a platform to showcase your skills and begin a rewarding journey to stardom, then this year’s OLF is the platform you need,” Ayorinde said.
Also speaking, Co-chairs of the One Lagos Fiesta Committee and acting Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Adebimpe Akinshola, and Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Obafela Bank-Olemoh, said that winners of the talent hunt show will be handsomely rewarded by the state government, adding that arrangements have also been made for varieties of A-list and up and coming artistes from all music genres to thrill participants.
They also assured that adequate security measures have been put in place to ensure safety of lives and property throughout the course of the fiesta.
