By Khalifa Hemed
Published January 11, 2017
Some of best performers in the entertainment and sports world in Uganda are set to have their voices heard around the world as British multimedia broadcaster pitches tent in the country for a week.
January 23-27, 2016 shall see live performances from musicians, dance troupes and comedians as British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)’s Focus on Africa television and radio, BBC Dira ya Dunia Kiswahili TV programme come together to broadcast live from The Pearl of Africa in a move BBC describes as “the first time the programmes will come together to broadcast from the continent.”
While BBC Focus on Africa–the flagship news and current affairs programme for Africa broadcast every weekday on BBC World News television and BBC World Service radio–shall be presented by Nigerian Peter Okwoche, Kenyan Sophie Ikenye and Ugandan Paul Bakibinga, Dira ya Dunia shall be delivered by Tanzanian Salim Kikeke and Kenyan Dayo Yusuf.
“There is so much to explore and discuss in Africa at the moment, that we felt it was the right time for the shows to collaborate and bring something fresh to our audience of 111 million people in Africa,” says Sophie Ikenye. “We’re giving Focus on Africa and Dira ya Dunia a different dimension by coming live from Kampala and featuring voices from the region. It promises to be a fascinating week in one of the world’s most vibrant cities.”
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Throughout the week, exclusive stories from BBC correspondents in Malawi, Algeria, Congo-Kinshasa and Sierra Leone will be featured on the programmes, showcasing what BBC calls the breadth and depth of its coverage across the continent.
Coinciding with the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) that kicks off in four venues in Gabon on January 14, BBC shall present special reports from the tournament in which Ugandan national team, Uganda Cranes, is participating for the first time since 1978. BBC is expected to celebrate the final Group D match pitting Uganda versus Mali on where we’ll join Ugandan fans for the Cranes’ final group match against Mali.Uganda is the only eastern African country in the continental tournament.
Sixteen teams in four groups shall make a dash for the US$4 Million cash prize earmarked for the winner of AFCON 2017 that runs January 14-February 5 and is sponsored by French oil dealing company, Total.
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The teams, in their groups, are:
Group A
Gabon
Guinea-Bissau
Cameroon
Burkina Faso
Group B
Senegal
Algeria
Tunisia
Zimbabwe
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Group C
Morocco
Cote d’Ivoire
RD Congo
Togo
Group D
Uganda
Mali
Ghana
Egypt
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BBC broadcasts Focus on Africa on BBC World News TV at 1730 GMT, Monday to Friday and BBC World Service radio at 1500, 1700 and 1900 GMT, Monday to Friday. Africa Live, the online news coverage, is available on bbc.com/africa and on BBCSwahili.com/.
