Organisers of The Headies have announced that the 18th edition of Nigeria’s premier music awards will be held in Toronto, Canada, as the event continues its push into the international space.
The announcement was made on Monday by the founder of The Headies, Ayo Animashaun, during a press briefing in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Although a date for the ceremony has not yet been confirmed, Animashaun revealed that travel company Wakanow has partnered with the organisers to support logistics and improve the experience for guests travelling from Nigeria to Canada.
“We have a partner going with us to give a never-seen-before experience from Lagos to Toronto and the partner is Wakanow,” he said.
He explained that the decision to host the awards outside Nigeria was driven by the need to expand revenue opportunities beyond sponsorship, in line with global award shows.
“Most of the awards in the world that you see that are big, that you talk about, they have four or five sources of revenue. Here we have only one, everybody talks about sponsorship,” he said.
Comparing The Headies to the Grammy Awards, Animashaun noted that major international events benefit from strong institutional and economic backing.
“They have state funding. During COVID, Grammy left Los Angeles and went to Madison Square in New York because LA was shut down.
“LA fought to bring Grammy back because it does something to their economy and it is part of their DNA. What events would you say are part of our DNA as Nigerians?” he added.
