Nigeria’s next generation network, Globacom, is the official sponsor of this year’s edition of the annual Akwa Ibom Christmas Carol Festival. The Carol Festival is slated to hold at the Uyo Township Stadium, Akwa Ibom, on December 19.
According to a statement released in Lagos, Globacom said it was committed to making the event a memorable one for the people of Akwa Ibom State.
The Akwa Ibom Christmas Carol Festival, which has become a record-breaking event and a rallying point for Nigerians from all parts of the world during the yuletide season, will feature local and international artistes.
Top international artistes slated to perform at the event include two Grammy Award winners, Donnie McClurkin and Shirley Caesar from the USA.
Donnie McClurkin is an American gospel singer and minister of God who has won three Grammy awards, 10 Stellar awards, two BET awards, two Soul Train awards, one Dove award and one NAACP Image award. He is one of the top selling Gospel music artistes in the world, having sold over 10 million albums.
His compatriot, Shirley Caesar is also a much sought after Gospel musician, songwriter and recording artiste, whose career has spanned over six decades. A multi-award winning artiste with a whopping 11 Grammy Awards and seven Dove Awards to her credit, she is known as the “First Lady of Gospel Music.”
The Voices of Barbados from South America will also feature in this edition of the Akwa Ibom Christmas Carol Festival. Top gospel acts from Nigeria, including Sammie Okposo, Asu Ekiye, Anne Inyang and Lara George will also perform at the carol festival.
The guest speaker is the General Overseer of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission, Bishop Mike Okonkwo.
The event, which debuted in 2008, has since grown in magnitude and repute to become a glittering carnival of songs, dance, worship and fun recognised worldwide and cited in the Guinness Book of Records.
In the year 2012 edition, Akwa Ibom Christmas Carol made history when it featured a 9,999-member choir, which was reputed to be the largest choir on the continent at that time.
Last year, the Christmas songs and fun event beat its own record when on December 13, 2014, at the Uyo Township Stadium; it featured the 25,272-person Godswill Akpabio Unity Choir which became the largest number of carol singers on earth. This record, set on Nigerian soil, beats the previous record set by a choir of 15,674 carol singers known as CENTI in Bogota, Columbia back in December 2013. The milestone remains till date in the Guinness Book of Records.
“We believe that the Akwa Ibom Christmas Carol festival has become a national asset worthy of our support to make it even more grand,” Globacom said in the statement.
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