Maximum entertainment, as Nigeria Beer Festival debuts with Independence Day mega concert

As Lagos set to host the maiden edition of the Nigeria Beer Festival from Monday, September 25 to Sunday, October 1, organisers of the event have promised to crown the week-long event with an Independence Day mega concert.

Speaking at a press conference to announce the event in Lagos on Tuesday, Akinola Oluwaleimu, General Manager of On and One Events Limited, organisers of the event, noted that the festival, which will promote responsible drinking among drinking-age (18 years and above) consumers at all its touch points, would be held at the Lagos Atlantic City, to give it a carnival atmosphere from day one to the very last second.

According to Oluwaleimu, the event would see Nigeria enrol into the league of hosts of Beer Festivals around the world, and boost the country’s tourism opportunities. “It will be a gathering of the largest community of beer consumers from across the country and beyond,” he said.

He revealed that the world-acclaimed Oktoberfest (Beer Festival) in Munich attracts more than 50,000 tourists to Germany every year, while other countries in Europe and the Americas have caught the bug.

“Nigeria Beer Festival will be a carnival week of entertainment, sales and marketing and a gathering of the largest community of beer consumers from across the country and beyond with economic value for the brands and the economy at large,” Oluwaleimu assured.

He added that the Nigeria Beer Festival would provide a fitting ambience to showcase fashion and lifestyle, as well as culture in a carnival atmosphere with various beer brands and other alcoholic drinks in Nigeria connecting with their existing and potential consumers.

This culture touch point, he submitted, is in line with the view of social scientists that that beer is among the symbolic vehicles for identifying, describing, constructing and manipulating cultural values and interpersonal relationships. They classify different alcoholic beverages in terms of their social and cultural meanings.

Oluwaleimu also assured partners of world-standard facilities as the organisers have partnered with reputable and qualified architects from Europe to design modular stands to fit into any shape or style desired by exhibitors

Also speaking at the event, Deputy Director, Creative Arts, Mr. Babatunde Annan, who represented the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, explained that government is collaborating with beer brewers in the country and their counterparts across the globe to stimulate the economic and tourism potentials in the State.

According to him, this is aimed at creating maximum excitement during the week-long fiesta that would climax with the Independence Day mega concert to commemorate Nigeria’s independence.

Governor Ambode is expected to close the festival during the Independence Day mega concert that will parade an array of A-list Nigerian artistes, which will feature eye-popping fireworks display.