The 12th edition of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards kicked off on Friday with the Cultural Day event, marking the beginning of activities preceding the Award Night scheduled for Saturday.
Attendees appeared in elaborate traditional outfits, showcasing African culture, fashion and heritage at the event held at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Among celebrities who attended the event were Omowunmi Dada, Nnenna Mbonu, Uche Jombo, Scarlet Gomez, Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman, Jason Jae, Imisioluwa Ayanwale, Iyo Prosper and Ashiogwu Precious, who all appeared in colourful traditional outfits.
This year’s Cultural Day is themed “Honouring Craft, Celebrating Culture,” highlighting African storytelling and creativity through fashion and entertainment.
The organisers had earlier unveiled nominees for the 12th edition of the awards ahead of the main ceremony slated for May 9.
Veteran actress Joke Silva, was also announced as the Head Judge for this year’s edition, succeeding filmmaker Femi Odugbemi.
The 2026 edition features 32 award categories, including 18 jury-voted awards, 11 audience-voted categories and three special recognition awards.
The organisers also introduced two new categories — Best Indigenous Language Film (North Africa) and Best Indigenous Language Film (Central Africa) — in a bid to strengthen the awards’ pan-African representation.
Among the top contenders for this year’s awards are Gingerrr, The Herd, My Father’s Shadow, 3 Cold Dishes and The Serpent’s Gift, all of which secured nominations in major categories.
