The Lagos State Government at the weekend said the second edition of its countdown programme designed to boost the state economy would begin on December 7 and end January 1, 2014.
The Managing Director of Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA), Mr. George Noah said this at the agency’s headquarters in Lagos, noting that the second edition of the programme would hold at the Lagos Bar Beach.
The managing director added that the countdown programme “is expected to attract over 200,000 participants and rakes billions of naira into the Lagos economy and promotes small scale enterprise.
Noah, who spoke at the pre-countdown parley with sponsors and ambassadors said players in the entertainment industry, sponsors of the event and government officials were on ground to assure the public that this year’s event would be great.
He explained that the first countdown took place in New York in 1903 with 200,000 people in attendant, saying that as at today over one million people graced the occasion annually in the US, with about $5 billion pumped into the nation’s economy.
He said: “In Lagos, we will like to replicate what is happening in other parts of the world. The countdown is not only about entertainment, it is about creation of employment; it is about commerce, brand development and encouraging brand loyalty.
“About 50 artistes are expected to grace this occasion, it is the biggest countdown in Africa. Countdown is about pleasure and beautifying the environment with lighting and so on. At countdown, we talk about inspiration of what we want to achieve in the New Year,” he explained.
Noah said the task this year was to drive human traffic to the Bar Beach for this year’s event as LASAA was set to host the event in partnership with the private sector, saying that the agency was already creating serious awareness about the event and working in tandem with the sponsors to leverage in the countdown event.
He was optimistic that this year’s event would be bigger and most interesting, adding that the agency was pushing to have the event mentioned in the media about 300 times.
Also speaking at the pre-countdown parley, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba said there was need to make the 2013 edition bigger and better than the first edition held last year, as larger crowd is expected to grace the occasion.
The artistes, who have been appointed as the countdown ambassadors, include Tuface Idibia, Funke Akindele and Don Jazzy, each of them expressed readiness to entertain the audience at the event.
General Manager of Zenith Bank Nigeria Plc, Bukola Olatunji said the bank was ready to work with the state government in the area of leisure and entertainment, saying such partnership would boost the Lagos economy. The sponsors include Nigeria Breweries Plc, Dangote Group Plc, 7Up, Airtel and Zenith Bank.