On Tuesday, stakeholders in the entertainment Industry across East Africa converged at the MovenPick Hotel in Westlands to officially launch “East Africa Got Talent” a reality TV show that will be discovering and nurturing new talents.
The show will bring together talents from four East African countries; Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda as the participating countries.
Speaking during the Launch, sports and culture Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed, said the show is a big step towards nurturing talent and preserving culture.
“We are focused on building a vibrant creative industry across the different artistic expressions ranging from culture and heritage, the performing arts, music, the visual arts, fashion and and other genres. It is unsurprising that the creative economy is one of the fastest growing in the world creating the need to focus on skills and investments that will ensure that the film market is embraced both locally and internationally,” said Amina Mohamed.
Kenya Films and Classification Board (KFCB) CEO Ezekiel Mutua said it was a good opportunity for Kenya to play host to the reality show, as it was going to provide a platform for identifying new talent and boosting the careers for the participants.
“I want thank the East Africa Got Talent fraternity for choosing Kenya to host the event and for continuing to provide a platform for identifying new talent and boosting the careers for the participants. County governments, communities and other stakeholders need to step in towards developing platforms that can help to both showcase and market our talents and our cultural diversity,” said Mutua.
Joseph Kusaga
Tanzania’s Clouds Media Group CEO Joseph Kusaga said that the “Got Talent” will open doors to many youth who will be taking party in the competition.
“Got Talent ni show ya kimataifa, haina umri, jinsia na haina lugha, uhitaji ujue kiingereza kushiriki. Unahitaji kipaji tuu. msingi wake ni kufungulia watu dunia, itabakia hivyo na Clouds itakuwa ni kwa ajili ya watu. Na East Africa imebarikiwa vipaji. Mimi na team yangu ni kuhakikisha kubwa EAGT inatumika kunufaisha East Africa haswa vijana” said Kusaga.
Filmed in Nairobi
The show will be sponsored by Safaricom, Clouds Media Group, KFCB among other partners and will run for 10 weeks with the contestants going through 3 phases before getting to the finals.
‘East Africa’s Got Talent’ will be hosted by Kenya’s Larry Asego alongside Ugandan Queen of Comedy Ann Kansiime. It will also be filmed in Nairobi and aired on Citizen TV.
The ‘Got Talent’ show, which was founded by X Factor creator Simon Cowell, currently runs across 58 countries.
Auditions are expected to commence on May 11 and May 12, 2019, at the Kenya International Conference Centre (KICC) in Nairobi.