By Olayinka Akanbi
Headies Toronto Awards will take the 18th edition to Canada, reflecting Afrobeats’ global rise and expanding the awards’ international reach
For nearly two decades, the Headies has been more than an awards ceremony.
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It has served as one of Nigerian music industry’s annual roll call, a night that celebrates biggest musical achievements while documenting the evolution of Afrobeats from a local movement into one of the world’s most influential sounds.
Now, the awards ceremony is preparing for another milestone.
The organisers last month, June, announced that the 18th Headies Awards would be held in Toronto, Canada, extending the ceremony’s international footprint and underscoring the growing appetite for Nigerian music across global markets.
The information was passed during “The Big Announcement” event at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, where Headies Executive Producer, Ayo Animashaun, said the move forms part of a broader strategy to position the awards as a truly global platform while attracting international partnerships and investment.
It is not an unfamiliar journey. The Headies first left Nigeria in 2022, when the 15th edition was staged in Atlanta, Georgia, and then returned to the same city for the 16th edition.
The awards came back to Lagos in 2025 under the theme “Back to Base.”
Toronto now becomes the latest destination in that international trajectory.
Toronto is home to one of Canada’s largest African and Nigerian diaspora communities and has increasingly become a major destination for Afrobeats concerts, festivals and cultural programming.
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Nigerian stars including Burna Boy, Wizkid, Tems, Davido, Rema and Ayra Starr have all performed in the city in recent years.
