Burna Boy delivered an epic 2023 UEFA Champions League Final performance
Nigerian Afrobeats star and multi-platinum selling singer Damini Ogulu, better known as Burna Boy, on Saturday night, June 10, thrilled the audience at the UEFA Champions League final.
Manchester City and Inter Milan faced off in the final of this year’s UCL at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey. A 68th minute strike from Rodri, helped the City edge past Inter Milan and win the European elite competition for the first time in history.
City also became the second English team ever to win the Treble — Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League — in the same season after local rivals, Man United won it in 1999.
Before the intriguing encounter, Burna Boy performed alongside Brazilian superstar, Anitta. He performed his global chart-topping hits ‘Last Last’ and ‘It’s Plenty,’ bringing his energy and signature soulful vibes of afrobeats to millions of fans before the biggest club fixture in football got under way.
A day prior, Burna Boy received four nominations in the 2023 edition of the Black Entertainment Television, BET, Awards. This is coming a week after the singer became the first African artiste to sell out the 80,000 capacity London Stadium in the UK.
Anitta’s pulsating Latin-American rhythms filled the stadium as she performed the global smash, ‘Envolver’, surrounded by over 60 LED hexagonal panels that featured animated content. Then she gave fans a flavour of her epic Brazilian funk new single ‘Funk Rave’, much to the adoration of the roaring crowd.
Born in Rio, 30-year-old Anitta scored her first No1 hit in Brazil with Zen in 2013. A major star across Latin America, the multilingual Anitta is increasingly a global phenomenon, entertaining substantial audiences in the United States, Europe and beyond.
The six-minute show culminated in a finale from renowned Swedish DJ Alesso – appearing as a special guest – who reminded the football world that players can become legends overnight with his track, ‘Heroes (we could be)’. Alesso’s appearance was accompanied by mesmerising SFX and pyro moments which lit up the stadium just moments before the players took to the field.
Alongside an electrifying mass cast who added energy and splashes of colour to the stunning choreography, this year marked the first time ever that Pepsi invited fans to get involved in the Kick Off Show for themselves through the #PepsiKickOffShow TikTok challenge.
Launched in collaboration with Burna Boy back in March, the challenge saw seven lucky winners from across the globe granted the once in a lifetime opportunity to perform their best dance moves as part of the Kick Off Show cast.
Abeeb Lekan Sodiq is a Managing Editor & Writer at theafricandream.net. He is as well a Graphics Designer and also known as Arakunrin Lekan.
