Lagos bids for Global Host City for International Jazz Day in 2020

The Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture has registered its interest to become the Global Host City of the annual International Jazz Day (IJD) celebration in 2020.

The Honourable Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, made this known to newsmen during the Y2018 Ministerial press briefing held in Lagos.

Ayorinde, while releasing the calendar of the over 70 state-sponsored and endorsed entertainment, arts and culture programmes slated for 2018, disclosed that the state government had already completed the bidding process with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the initiator of the worldwide celebration, to become the Jazz Capital of the World in 2020.

“And with the recent announcement of the Regional Director of UNESCO, it looks like our prayers will be answered and UNESCO will grant our request to become the Jazz capital of the world”, he said.

Russia’s imperial city, Saint Petersburg, was the Global Host City for the 2018 International Jazz Day celebration held annually every 30th of April in different cities around the world and in line with UNESCO mandates.

This year’s celebration, according to sources, was participated by over 190 countries globally and attended by the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, herself.

The event featured numerous educational and outreach programmes organised in Saint Petersburg including a panel discussion with the organisers of some of the main Jazz Day events from around the world, ending with an all-star concert at the Mariinsky Theatre.

“Jazz is more than music. More than a purely aesthetic emotion. It is a message of freedom and creativity. It carries strong values of dignity, respect and hope. It is constantly reinvented by passionate artistes. For these reasons, jazz is a universal music”, said the Director-General in her address at the Mariinsky theatre.

“The role of arts and creation, especially of jazz, which has a tradition of bringing people together, is more important than ever in these challenging times” she added.

Since 2012 when the IJD started in Paris, France, following the UNESCO proclamation of 2011, the Global Host Cities have included Istanbul, Turkey in 2013; Osaka, Japan, in 2014; and Paris in 2015, Washington DC, United States in 2016, Havana, Cuba in 2017 and Saint Petersburg, Russia in 2018.

Each host city normally offer unique events, inaugural festivities featuring both local and international performers and jazz event free of charge to citizen who may not afford a paid music concert.

Speaking further, Ayorinde said, “We understand that becoming the Jazz capital of the world is more than the party and the music, it is about upholding the aims and values that UNESCO seeks to propagate through the idea of the International Jazz Day celebration.

“These values in fact are in line with the governor’s vision to use the arts particularly music to galvanise economic activities that will create jobs and reward excellence.

“In 2016 when Washington DC was declared the Jazz Capital of the world, President Obama celebrated that day with a concert at the White House. Also, because he believed in the ideals of that day, His Excellency, the Governor [of  Lagos, Akinwunmi Ambode] hosted a Jazz concert at the State House in April 16 of that year just to show the world that music can be used as an educational and cultural tool and force for social engineering.

“The Lagos international Jazz festival is celebrated annually at the Freedom Park and other locations. Last year the International Jazz Day was celebrated as part of the Lagos at 50 celebration. This year what we did was to identify and celebrate the chief promoters of jazz in Africa in order to promote Jazz music. We have demonstrated our commitment, we have shown that we love music, we love jazz and we love the arts and we are ready to host the world in 2020.”

Though IJD was globally recognised in 2012, the Lagos International Jazz Festival (LIJF) has been an annual celebration since 2008.