By Modupe Gbadeyanka
As Lagos State is set to host the maiden edition of the Nigeria Beer Festival from September 25 to October 1, 2017, organizers 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, Mr Akinola Oluwaleimu, General Manager of On and One Events Limited, the organizers of the event, noted that the festival, which will promote responsible drinking among drinking-age (which is 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 1 to the very last second.
According to Mr 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,” Mr 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.
Mr Oluwaleimu also assured partners of world-standard facilities as the organizers 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, Mr Babatunde Annan, Deputy Director, Creative Arts, who represented the Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, explained that the 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.
This according to him, it 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 Akinwunmi 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.
