NSF 2024: Organisers Begin Search for Ceremonies Team

Organisers of the Gateway Games, 2024 have launched their quest for creative groups to produce show-stopping Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the next National Sports Festival. 

This follows the inauguration of the Local Organising Committee for the Games by Governor Dapo Abiodun last month.

“Ogun State is not just the educational capital, we’re also the creative capital of Nigeria and there’ll be so much local talent and inspiration for our ceremonies production team to draw upon to tell the Ogun State story,” Modele Sarafa-Yusuf, Chairperson  of the Protocol and Ceremonial sub-committee said. “An Expression of Interest is the first phase in recruiting the production team.”

The 2024 Games are the second to be hosted in Ogun State and organisers are challenging creative industries to use the tender as “an opportunity to think differently.” “Ogun is a trailblazer in all respects and that’s what I want the nation to see during our opening and closing ceremonies,” Sarafa-Yusuf added.

Organizers say that the Ceremonies team will be involved with everything from bringing up creative ideas and collaborating with people, to overseeing auditions with local artists and managing the technical aspects of the production.

“Our vision is that Gateway Games 2024 will honour the different cultures of the predominant ethnic groups in Ogun State, recognise their representatives in formal protocols, and share the history and contemporary stories of our state. “

Mrs. Sarafa-Yusuf for many years, was Globacom’s Head of Sponsorships spearheaded the telecoms company’s organisation of the Glo-CAF Awards and the Glo-Lagos Marathon.

The Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta is set to be the venue for both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2024 National Sports Festival.

Ogun State also hosted the National Sports Festival in 2006; an endeavor which was generally regarded as one of the best ever organised in Nigeria.