Lagos selected for MTV Africa Music Awards

For the second time, Nigeria has been selected to host the 2010 MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs). This year's event takes place at the EKO Expo Hall in Lagos on 11 December and comes two years after the inaugural MAMAs were held at the Velodrome in Abuja, in October 2008. Featuring 12 categories such as best male, best female, best video and best group, the 2010 awards have had two new categories added: best francophone act and best lusophone act, in recognition of the artistic contribution of French and Portuguese musicians working on the continent of Africa.

Entries are open to artists who have received MTV airplay during the last year. Nominees are due to be announced at the end of October, at which time the public can vote via mobile-site mtvmama.mobi or website www.mama.mtvbase.com. MTV's global multimedia network provides a platform for supporting and promoting African musical talent, in particular indigenous styles such as Kwaito, Boomba, Bongo Flava and Afro House.

The 2010 awards are being organised in collaboration with Bharti Airtel, a Indian telecommunications company with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa. Last year's awards took place in Nairobi, Kenya.