This year’s Giants of Africa Festival will be a celebration of basketball, entertainment and service to community, the organisers have announced. The week-long festival will hold in Kigali, Rwanda, from July 26 to August 2 with such stars as Kizz Daniel, Uncle Waffles, Timaya and other yet to be revealed acts lined up to spice the show.

Giants of Africa is a non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering African youth through basketball. It was founded by Nigeria’s Masai Ujiri, who is the Vice-Chairman and President of the Toronto Raptors Basketball Club of Canada, which plays in the NBA.

According to the itinerary for the year, the festival will bring together 320 young athletes from 20 African nations, and more than 20,000 spectators for a week of community, culture, basketball, education, and entertainment.

The festival will unite communities, spark potential, and drive transformative change across the continent. Explaining the year’s celebration, Ujiri said in a statement: “Like these kids, I grew up on the continent. As Africans, we know the landscape and what the kids go through. We know they dream just like we did and it really inspires me because, those kids have so much more talent and intelligence; they have ways to communicate now that we didn’t. This festival is about showing them that there is a path. We want them to never stop dreaming.”

The statement added: “The Giants of Africa Festival 2025 will begin with an exhilarating opening show, as the athletes unite in an inspiring parade to kick off the weeklong celebration.

“South African international DJ sensation, Uncle Waffles, MTV Video Music Award-winning choreographer Sherrie Silver, and Rwandan singer and songwriter, Kevin Kade will bring electrifying performances as Ujiri and special guests welcome all to the festivities. The awe-inspiring event will mark the beginning of life-changing journeys for Africa’s leaders of tomorrow.”

The events will hold across Kigali Sports City’s BK Arena, Amahoro National Stadium, Petit Stade, and Paralympic Gymnasium. The festival will also showcase the full potential of Africa’s sports and entertainment ecosystem, highlighting its social and economic value for the next generation and the continent at large.

“The Giants of Africa Festival 2025 will also serve as the grand opening of Zaria Court. Founded by Ujiri, the new mixed-use sports, entertainment, and cultural district includes an 80-room hotel, sports bar, basketball court, event space, retail outlets, gym, five-a-side football pitch, and outdoor public areas.

“The festival will conclude with spectacular Closing Concert featuring performances from Nigerian Afrobeats artist, Kizz Daniel, and award-winning Nigerian singer/songwriter Timaya. Celebrity guests in attendance throughout the week will include Chris Tucker, Candace Parker, Robin Roberts, Chiney Ogwumike, Didier Drogba, Michael Blackson, Boris Kodjoe and more. Additional performers for both the opening show and closing concert will be announced in the coming weeks,” the statement said.

The Giants of Africa Festival features a weeklong youth basketball camp and tournament that brings together young men and women from 20 nations. Youth campers will represent Senegal, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin, Gabon, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Tanzania, D.R. Congo, Somalia, Ethiopia, Morocco, Botswana, and South Africa.

The organisers said that this year, event will also present its inaugural Threads of Africa Fashion Show, celebrating culture, fashion, and design from across Africa.