The 2023 Akwa Ibom Christmas Carols Festival, which took place on December 15, 2023 in Uyo was a clear manifestation of God’s steadfast love for those who trust and believe in Him. It evoked emotions of surmounting the impossibility and igniting the can-do spirit of a typical Akwa Ibomite.
When on October 15, 2023, we excavated the first shovel scoop of earth to kickstart the process of building the event arena; which is unarguably the biggest amphitheatre in Nigeria, many were very vocal and vehement in their assertions that it was a mission impossible.
Fast forward to 9 weeks later, we were seated in a brand new 20,000 capacity amphitheatre, where citizens and guests from across the globe gathered for an edifying moment to worship God. The arena is complete with an Executive lounge and 30 fully kitted toilet facilities.
The Akwa Ibom Christmas Carols Festival is an international religious festival of Christian Songs, Dance, and Worship that is officially certified and cited in the Guinness Book of World Records. Since 2007, the event has attracted the crème-de-la crème in gospel music artistry and worshipers from across the world.
In 2023, we rejigged the format of the event to give opportunities to home grown talents on a global stage. Therefore, we lined up a mixed grill of Thirteen home-grown gospel artistes and twenty choir and choral groups, who sang to the glory of God and for the pride of Akwa Ibomites and humanity across the globe.
We did not just hand-pick the “armada” of singers, but we went for some of the brightest and best singers and leaned on the pedigree of the selected choirs and choral groups. Beyond the selection process, we spent more than one month rehearsing with them and fine tuning the rough edges to ensure that their performances met international standards and global best practices.
Many people might be wondering why we leave no stone unturned towards hosting an international standard event, year-in-year-out to sing praises to God, particularly those watching this event live on satellite TV and on the Internet.
The answer is very much aligned with the fact that religion and tourism are interlinked, therefore it is only fit and proper that Akwa Ibom State, the only state on planet earth named after God – AKWA ABASI IBOM, provides a platform for a festival of Christian songs, dance and worship, which is recognized and attended by top artistes and worshipers from across the world.
It is expedient to note that the 2023 event took place in the same arena as the Annual Ibom Christmas Village Celebrations which was been rebranded, reloaded and aptly tagged CHRISTMAS UNPLUGGED which opened on December 01, 2023, and ran till January 1, 2024.
It was indeed a December-to-Remember in Akwa Ibom State.
