Latest news with #Afrobeats
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Inside the Lionesses' jubilant Euro 2025 victory parade: How Sarina Wiegman let her mask slip, Chloe Kelly's iconic f-bomb, and Leah Williamson's touching message
'In Sarina We Trust,' the placards proclaimed, bobbing above the crowd as tens of thousands flooded down the Mall, inching ever closer to Buckingham Palace. Some had travelled from as far as Durham and as wide as Bristol, all for a glimpse of their heroes – and, of course, the Dutch manager who has delivered something once unimaginable: unflinching, unparalleled success to this country. Wiegman, understated as ever, had to be coaxed to the microphone to address the sea of flag-waving, jubilant faces, and asked to reflect on the night her side rallied one final time to clinch a second European crown in three years. 'Chaos,' she summarised, before delivering the most Wiegman of lines: 'We always had a plan and the players were trying to execute that on the pitch. We kept our hope and belief. We just showed up when it was really necessary and urgent.' Straight to the point. Always reluctant to embellish. Never one to claim individual credit, never one to seek the spotlight. And then the mask slipped – in the most unexpected of ways. The announcement that her favourite singer, Afrobeats star Burna Boy, would be joining her on stage. She gasped, a hand flying to her forehead. 'No way,' she cried, before launching into a spontaneous jig to For My Hand, arm-in-arm with the Nigerian artist, hips swaying as her players erupted in laughter behind her. They, too, were caught off guard by this rare lapse in composure – a glimpse of their manager revelling, at last, in the praise so rightfully hers. 'Her face when they brought Burna Boy out was a picture. None of us could believe it, to be honest,' Esme Morgan told the BBC after the celebrations. The anthem of the tournament had become Wiegman's too. The 1950s classic by The Champs had been joyfully reworked – 'Sarina!' replacing 'Tequila!' – and was roared once more by the faithful gathered below. Leah Williamson summed it up: 'She's an amazing woman. She stands by us on and off the pitch. She supports us in whichever way we need – and then she's ruthless. If she tells me to jump, I say how high.' Seventeen-year-old fan April Caswell from Hertfordshire reflected with striking eloquence: 'She's carried the team so well. To get them to the end and win was absolutely amazing. It's so inspiring – the way she's helped bring up these women who are representing their country. That's inspiring a lot of girls to go after their dreams.' Over the past few weeks, England have felt the love of this crowd in fleeting moments. When they stepped out of their hotels for brief walks around the city. When they opened social media and saw the flood of messages from home. When they were stopped on Zurich's trams for selfies. When press conferences were interrupted by FaceTimes from family – as happened with Hannah Hampton, after her standout performance in the win over Sweden. And, of course, when they stepped onto the pitch and heard the roar. Here, that love surged towards them with force and fervour from every corner of the country. Fans lined the streets in red and white, chanting their names – and they didn't stop. Some had set off as early as three in the morning, heading for the tree-lined, red-tarmac stretch of London's most iconic ceremonial route before dawn had broken. As the hours passed, replays of the Lionesses' road to glory lit up the big screens. There were gasps as the crowd relived the heartbreak of the opening defeat to France, but the loudest cheer of all was saved for Chloe Kelly's decisive penalty. Some cracked open beers with their Monday breakfasts. A few bold fans even clambered onto the media platform to get a better view, prompting gentle intervention from the police. But no one could have asked for more when it came to the speech delivered by Leah Williamson after sobbing her way down the Mall atop the open-top bus. 'This is probably one of the best things we have ever been a part of, so thank you for coming out,' the England captain told the crowd. 'There are lots of ways to win a football match and we repeatedly did it the hard way, but I think you can see how much we care about playing for England, how much we love it. '2022 was a fairytale, but this feels really hard-earned, and we are very proud of ourselves. So thank you – and we hope you are (proud of us), too. 'My message is: everything we do, obviously we do it for us and our team, but we do it for the country and we do it for young girls. This job never existed 30, 40 years ago and we are making history every single step. Thank you so much for being with us. Stay with us – this story is not done yet.' The Mall was filled with thousands of excited England fans who filled up all available space to watch the presentation The Lionesses cruised along The Mall to celebrate their second European title on the trot Woman-of-the-hour Chloe Kelly put it more succinctly – and with no less impact – declaring, 'It's so f**** special!' The outburst drew titters from the crowd and nervous laughter from Alex Scott, who swiftly apologised for the language, as Kelly later did on social media. The occasion felt quintessentially British in the 21st century: a flamboyant clash of tradition and modernity. It began with bagpipes, pomp and ceremony. The backdrop – Buckingham Palace and the Queen Victoria Memorial – was nothing short of majestic. There was a dash of the vintage – Heather Small's Proud sent Ella Toone and Alessia Russo into a frenzy. And then came the flavour of the new: DJs, Alex Scott, visor sunglasses – and, crucially, women at the forefront of celebration for their sporting achievement. One of the day's quiet tragedies was the absence of Jess Carter, who had flown back to the United States to play for her club, Gotham FC, in the NWSL. After all she endured this tournament – from the racist abuse that forced her off social media to her rock-solid, triumphant display against Spain – she deserved this moment more than most. But her decision to return to club duty before taking her bow was a testament to her character. Here's hoping she heard the loudest roar when her name was announced at Basel's St Jakob-Park – a stadium that will now carry the memory of this special group of players for many years to come.
TimesLIVE
11 hours ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Bature Brewery taps into Nigeria's R125bn beer market
To the sound of Afrobeats in an open-air pub at its headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria's Bature Brewery is working to wean more customers off the big brands and onto its locally inspired craft beers. Globally the craft beer market is forecast to triple to more than $250bn (R4.49-trillion) by 2033, research from Business Research Insights finds, as craft producers win over customers from the brands of the major international companies AB Inbev, Guinness and Heineken. "We know there is more demand," Bature co-founder Kevin Conroy said. "Our goal is to get to 500 locations selling our products by the next 18 months. We are aiming to be doing 100,000 litres per month by next year." The 500 locations compare with 70 now. Bature Brewery, which began operations in Abuja in 2017 and is the biggest of Nigeria's craft brewers, produces 22,000 litres monthly, including locally inspired flavours such as Harmattan Haze, Lagos Lager and Mango Disco. Its efforts to persuade more people to drink its beer, which costs up to six times more than mass-market bottled beer, include investing in draft dispensers in hotels, bars and restaurants. To help ensure supply, Bature has installed diesel power and a water treatment plant to tackle sometimes erratic power and water supplies, and it has also installed new fermentation vessels and other equipment at its Lagos plant. Other challenges in Nigeria include the devaluation of the naira that has raised the cost of imported raw materials.
Reuters
19 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Nigeria's Bature Brewery taps into $7 billion beer market
LAGOS, July 29 (Reuters) - To the sound of Afrobeats in an open air pub at its headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria's Bature Brewery is working to wean more customers off the big brands and onto its locally inspired craft beers. Globally, the craft beer market is forecast to triple to more than $250 billion by 2033, research from Business Research Insights finds, as craft producers win over customers from the brands of the major international companies AB Inbev ( opens new tab, Guinness ( opens new tab and Heineken ( opens new tab. "We know there is more demand," Bature co-founder Kevin Conroy said. "Our goal is to get to 500 locations selling our products by the next 18 months. We are aiming to be doing 100,000 litres per month by next year." The 500 locations compare with 70 now. Bature Brewery, which began operations in Abuja in 2017 and is the biggest of Nigeria's craft brewers, produces 22,000 litres monthly, including locally-inspired flavours such as Harmattan Haze, Lagos Lager, and Mango Disco. Its efforts to persuade more people to drink its beer, which costs up to six times more than mass market bottled beer, include investing in draft dispensers in hotels, bars and restaurants. To help ensure supply, Bature has installed diesel power and a water treatment plant to tackle sometimes erratic power and water supplies, and it has also installed new fermentation vessels and other equipment at its Lagos plant. Other challenges in Nigeria include the devaluation of the naira that has raised the cost of imported raw materials. Bature is seeking to appeal to local tastes with local ingredients, including coffee sourced from Taraba State for its Black Gold stout, which won a taste category at the 2023 World Beer Awards. The world's biggest stout producer Guinness first brewed in 1962 in Nigeria, which is its second biggest market for Guinness after the United Kingdom. In Nigeria, the total beer market is valued at $7 billion annually, according to data gathering platform Statista. Conroy says he expects to remain relatively small. "We're going to be a small craft brewery compared to the big guys, but we believe we can make the best beer and we can keep growing in our own way and do things in our own style," Conroy said. Even 1% of a $7 billion market would be $70 million. "I will be very happy with 1% of the market. Even half of that will be great," Conroy said. Among those drinking at the Bature Brewery and enjoying the live band, Colin Egemonye, a businessman, is one satisfied customer. "The flavour is beautiful," he told Reuters.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Inside Afrobeats: Meet the host behind the 4-part series
For JJ Okonkwo, Afrobeats is more than just a genre of music — it's a part of who he is. "Afrobeats holds a special place in my heart because it echoes the rhythm of where I come from," said Okonkwo. Afrobeats is a fairly young genre of music. It gained prominence in the early 2000s, combining West African musical styles with elements of hip-hop, R&B, dancehall and other genres. Okonkwo witnessed the early rise of Afrobeats and he was immediately hooked. "What I love most about Afrobeats is its versatility. It blends with any genre while staying proudly African. The beats bring instant joy, but it's the storytelling, the proverbs, and the punchy lyrics that make it truly unique. You can never mistake Afrobeats for anything else," he said. Okonkwo grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, where he was born into a family of singers and spent his childhood surrounded by music. With his father's record collection and his brother's cassette tapes at his fingertips, Okonkwo was exposed to a wide variety of music. In 2023, when Okonkwo moved to St. John's, he started listening to local radio stations to get a feel for the music scene in Canada. He found the stations were primarily playing mainstream western music with little representation from the Afrobeats genre. "I felt disconnected. It didn't reflect the multicultural reality of Canadian society. That, to me, was a gap." This gap is what inspired him to create Inside Afrobeats, a four-part audio series that explores the history and global impact of Afrobeats music. For Okonkwo, he hopes the series will not only introduce people to some great music, but also raise awareness of the genre. "The goal is to amplify the sound, the stories, and the culture behind the genre, and ensure that African voices and rhythms are part of the national conversation in music and media," said Okonkwo. All four episodes of Inside Afrobeats are available to listen to here. Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here.
CBC
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Inside Afrobeats: Meet the host behind the 4-part series
This is part a special four-part audio series co-produced JJ Okonkwo and the CBC's Katie Rowe and Amy Joy. For JJ Okonkwo, Afrobeats is more than just a genre of music — it's a part of who he is. "Afrobeats holds a special place in my heart because it echoes the rhythm of where I come from," said Okonkwo. Afrobeats is a fairly young genre of music. It gained prominence in the early 2000s, combining West African musical styles with elements of hip-hop, R&B, dancehall and other genres. Okonkwo witnessed the early rise of Afrobeats and he was immediately hooked. "What I love most about Afrobeats is its versatility. It blends with any genre while staying proudly African. The beats bring instant joy, but it's the storytelling, the proverbs, and the punchy lyrics that make it truly unique. You can never mistake Afrobeats for anything else," he said. Okonkwo grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, where he was born into a family of singers and spent his childhood surrounded by music. With his father's record collection and his brother's cassette tapes at his fingertips, Okonkwo was exposed to a wide variety of music. In 2023, when Okonkwo moved to St. John's, he started listening to local radio stations to get a feel for the music scene in Canada. He found the stations were primarily playing mainstream western music with little representation from the Afrobeats genre. "I felt disconnected. It didn't reflect the multicultural reality of Canadian society. That, to me, was a gap." This gap is what inspired him to create Inside Afrobeats, a four-part audio series that explores the history and global impact of Afrobeats music. For Okonkwo, he hopes the series will not only introduce people to some great music, but also raise awareness of the genre. "The goal is to amplify the sound, the stories, and the culture behind the genre, and ensure that African voices and rhythms are part of the national conversation in music and media," said Okonkwo.
