Africa Oyé is the largest free live African music festival in the UK and is held in June annually in Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is held in Sefton Park

Sefton Park

Sefton Park is a public park in south Liverpool, England. The park is in a district of the same name within the Liverpool City Council Ward of Mossley Hill, and roughly within the historic bounds of the large area of Toxteth Park...

 and showcases up-and-coming African and Caribbean artists, as well as presenting already famous artists.

Africa Oyé has been the site of the UK débuts of bands such as Tinariwen

Tinariwen

Tinariwen is a band of Tuareg-Berber musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. The band was formed around 1979 in refugee camps in Libya but returned to Mali after a cease-fire in the 1990s...

, Ba Cissoko

Ba Cissoko

Ba Cissoko is a Guinean world music band, featuring four members, two of which are playing the traditional Kora harp. The other two band members play percussions and bass, respectively...

 and has attracted a wealth of international artists to Merseyside, including Bonga

Bonga (musician)

Bonga Kwenda , better known as Bonga, is a folk and semba singer and songwriter from Angola. Bonga was born in 1943 in the province of Bengo, and left Angola at age 23 to become an athlete, becoming the Portuguese record holder for the 400 metres...

and Luciano. in a family-friendly celebration of cultural diversity.

History

Beginning in 1992 as a series of small gigs in the city centre, the event has gone from strength-to-strength, moving to its present home in Sefton Park in 2002 to cope with demand. It continues to grow each year and in 2009 attracted an audience of over 20,000 people, increasing to 50,000 people in 2010. The celebration of African Culture brought in £1.3 million to the Liverpool economy.

The festival aims to be an international event that harnesses the spirit of multiculturalism and tolerance. It has played host to artists from nations right across Africa and also programmes music from South America and The Caribbean with Salsa, Soca and Reggae always a popular addition to the festivities.

Oyé Touring and Trading

Africa Oyé launched an additional strand of work in April 2009 funded by the Arts Council called Oyé Touring and Trading. Along with 5 other national organisations (Serious, Punch Records, Joyful Noise, and CMAT) and as part of the Black Routes network Oyé produced two 2 National tours, and a Learning and Participation Project called The Legacy Roots and Music in Liverpool and will do the same in 2010/11. The first two tours were with Jamaican Reggae legend Freddie McGregor in June and Odemba OK Jazz All Stars from DR Congo in September.

External links

• http://www.africaoye.com/
• http://www.myspace.com/africaoye
• Anothermedia
• http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/news/newsdetail_2649.asp