Yemi Alade, a Nigerian Afrobeats sensation, performed at the opening ceremony of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire on Saturday, January 13, 2024.
She teamed up with Mohamed Ramadan, an Egyptian rapper, and Magic System, an Ivorian band, to perform ‘Akwaaba’, the official anthem for AFCON 2023.
The song means ‘welcome’ in Baoule, a language spoken in Côte d’Ivoire. Alade said that performing at the AFCON was a dream come true for her, as she had always desired to perform at a football ceremony since 2016.
The opening ceremony took place at the 60,000-capacity Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan, where the host Ivory Coast played against Guinea-Bissau in the first match of the tournament.
Watch her performance below.
