We’re excited to announce that EGOT-winning, critically acclaimed, multiplatinum artist and producer, John Legend will headline the 2025 edition of Move Afrika.
“I’m honored and excited to perform in Kigali and Lagos as part of the Move Afrika tour — an initiative that not only brings unforgettable shows, but also creates entrepreneurship and job opportunities, empowering young people to engage with Africa’s growing music and creative industries,” said John Legend. “Africa has always been a global cultural powerhouse, and it’s an honor to be part of the future of live music on the continent.”
Yes, you read that right — John Legend is joining the Move Afrika tour, and we couldn’t be more thrilled! This year, Move Afrika is turning up the energy, expanding from East to West Africa with stops in Rwanda and Nigeria. The first stop? The iconic BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, on February 21, before heading to the vibrant city of Lagos, Nigeria at The Palms on February 25, 2025. Get ready for an unforgettable celebration of music, impact, and unity across the continent!
“We’re thrilled to have John Legend, our longtime Global Citizen Ambassador and friend headline Move Afrika, as we expand the tour from Rwanda to Nigeria,” said Hugh Evans, Co-Founder & CEO of Global Citizen. “As Move Afrika grows year over year, our goal is to equip and inspire Africa’s dynamic, young population to participate in the live music and creative industries, while investing in its future with lasting infrastructure that will mean the continent no longer needs to be excluded from the international touring circuit.”
We see you clicking your feet, ready to turn up. But before you lace up those kicks, here are some important things you need to know!
What is Move Afrika?
Move Afrika is Global Citizen’s initiative to create job and entrepreneurship opportunities, and enhance health systems for the continent’s emerging generations through an annual series of live music events. This first-of-its-kind music touring circuit brings together the hottest African and international artists.
You might be wondering why we’re doing this. These electrifying events are more than just shows — they’re a catalyst to drive transformative investments and change. By engaging local artists, vendors, agencies and crews, we’re driving investments into local communities and creating opportunities for on-the-job training and skill development. But here’s where you come in: together, we can inspire government leaders, businesses, philanthropists, artists, and citizens to take action. Whether it’s through posting, tweeting, messaging, voting or signing, every action counts in driving the change the world urgently needs.
The first Move Afrika event, Move Afrika: Rwanda — headlined by Grammy Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning artist, Kendrick Lamar in December, 2023 was nothing short of spectacular. Artists like Zuchu, Bruce Melodie, DJ TOXXYK, Sherrie Silver, Ariel Wayz, Kivumbi King and Bruce The 1st were also featured. The event focused on job creation, skill training and youth entrepreneurship.
The impact was huge — more than 1, 000 Rwandans were employed, and 75% of the crew and production staff were locals. Fans and artists hailed the event as world-class and the most successful live music concert ever staged in Rwanda.
Now that we’ve covered the basics on Move Afrika, let's get on to the exciting part.
How to Earn Tickets
We have limited tickets to Move Afrika: Kigali and Move Afrika: Lagos and two different ways for a chance to earn them. Want to be a part of this first-of-its-kind music touring circuit? Well, read on!
- You can enter and earn tickets by taking action on the Global Citizen app or the Global Citizen website.
- You can also take action by sending us a message on WhatsApp.
On our app or website, there will be three separate ticket draws for a chance to earn a pair of tickets. Each entry into the draw costs 20 points. If you don’t win in your first draw entry — don’t worry, you can enter the draw multiple times to keep trying!
The three time periods you can enter the draws on our app or website are:
- Draw 1: Jan 14 — Jan 29
- Draw 2: Jan 30 — Feb 5
- Draw 3: Feb 6 — Feb 12
The winners of the draws will be notified by email the day after each draw ends. So, keep an eye on your inbox and make sure you mark our emails as not spam.
On WhatsApp, there will only be one draw from January 14 to February 12. Winners will be notified on February 13 via WhatsApp. At the start of each week, we will send you a simple action to complete, followed by an update at the end of that same week. By responding to any of these actions, you will automatically be entered into the draw for a chance to earn a pair of tickets
For every further action you complete on WhatsApp, you’ll get another entry, so remember to keep taking action every week to increase your chances.
Pro-tips for WhatsApp: Firstly, make sure you have WhatsApp. Secondly, click here to send us a message saying “I'm ready to take action” if you’re in Rwanda or click here to send us the same message if you’re in Nigeria. Don’t forget to save Global Citizen’s number on your device (Rwanda: +250 790 008 555 and Nigeria: +234 901 398 2743). You can learn more about taking action right here and make sure you’re following us on socials (@glblctzn) for all of the latest news and updates. Remember, terms and conditions apply!
Why You Should Get Involved
The 2025 edition of Move Afrika isn't just a music tour circuit. It's a whole movement focused on strengthening health systems across Africa. We’re urging African nations to invest more in primary and sexual and reproductive health (SRHR) services. We are also asking them to support reforms that will reduce the pressure on their finances, allowing them to improve their health systems.
That’s not all. This edition of Move Afrika will bring public and private sector leaders, policymakers, and key stakeholders together to support policy changes that will create jobs and empower young people to contribute to the continent’s growing creative industry.
The 2025 edition of Move Afrika, which is supported by campaign partners pgLang and the Rwanda Development Board, will build on Global Citizen’s epic campaigns and events across Africa, including Move Afrika: Rwanda, held at the BK Arena in 2023; Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, which featured Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Ed Sheeran, Usher, Eddie Vedder, and Chris Martin of Coldplay in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2018; Global Citizen Live: Lagos, with performances by Davido, Femi Kuti, and Tiwa Savage at Fela Kuti’s New Afrika Shrine in 2021; and Global Citizen Festival: Accra, which brought Usher, SZA, Stormzy, and TEMS to the Black Star Square in 2022. And get this — each year, additional countries will be added to the Move Afrika tour circuit across the continent over the next five years.
So mark your calendars, set those reminders, and get ready. If your pulse isn't racing yet, you might need a vibe check!