The highly-anticipated afrobeats festival, Afronation, will no longer make its debut in Nigeria next month.

The popular music festival franchise, which was set to hold its inaugural edition in Lagos in December has been cancelled.

Organisers of the festival, in a statement released during the week via social media, expressed their disappointment over a unanimous decision to cancel the Afrobeats festival.

According to them, the reason behind the shocking decision is because it is “currently not possible to deliver a show that is of the quality that Nigerian deserves”.

This is coming a few days after a delegation from Afronation Nigeria led by its country director, Idris Olorunibe, had paid a courtesy visit to the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture ahead of the show.

The government had pledged to partner the organisation to host the festival.

AfroNation is a renowned global festival celebrating the vibrant and dynamic Afrobeats music genre. The festival has been held in various eventually such as Portugal, Ghana, Miami, and Detriot. However this would have been its first showcase in Lagos, Nigeria. The now-cancelled event promised a two-day spectacular array of musical performances by Burna Boy, J Hus, Seyi Vibez and Black Sherif.

The statement from the event organizers stated that: “Unfortunately the Afro Nation Nigeria festival in Lagos will now not be taking place. As event organisers, we hold ourselves to extremely high standards and it has become clear to us that it is currently not possible to deliver a show that is of the quality that Nigeria deserves in December 2023.

“We are honoured to play our part in the Afrobeats community, providing a platform for artists to connect with fans and to create events that have such a positive impact on the culture, globally, as well as launching the Afrobeats chart in the US and the UK. We have put on incredible shows in Portugal, Ghana, Puerto Rico, Miami, and Detroit but Nigeria holds a special place in our hearts, so we are heartbroken not to be able to celebrate with you this year.

“Please know, we are 100% committed to creating an Afro Nation show in Lagos that we can all be proud of.

“We know that you are as disappointed as we are and to all those who have purchased tickets, we love you and thank you for supporting us on this journey.

“We will refund all tickets including booking fees. Ticket buyers do not need to do anything but will receive an email with information outlining the refund process.”

The organisers of the showcase have promised to refund all those who have previously purchased tickets. The team promised to continue to create an Afronation in Lagos.