The Headies move their Toronto finale to 10 and 11 April 2027, with the October date no longer standing

The Headies, the Nigerian awards show that has been the yardstick for Afrobeats and Nigerian pop for two decades, has pushed the finale of its 18th edition to spring. The ceremony, which was due in Toronto on 23 October 2026, is now set for 10 and 11 April 2027, according to the awards' own site.

What has changed

The Toronto leg is a big step for an awards show built in Lagos. The organisers say the delay lets them grow the programme on both sides of the Atlantic, which they describe as a Nigeria and Canada programme. The April weekend is expected to pair the ceremony with a trade and investment summit and a creative summit.

A "Road to The Headies" run of workshops, seminars and meetings is meant to keep going in the meantime. Venues and a full schedule have not been published yet, and the organisers have apologised to anyone who had already booked travel for the original dates.

One thing to watch: the ticketing section of the Headies site still showed the old 23 and 24 October dates when we checked on 17 October, even though the same page carries the April notice. Treat April 2027 as the date, and check the official channels before you book anything.

Who is in the running

The nominations were published in late August and the field is heavy with names the rest of the world knows. In the Afrobeats Album of the Year category, the nominees are:

• Davido, 5ive
• BNXN, Captain
• Omah Lay, Clarity of Mind
• Adekunle Gold, Fuji
• Wizkid, Morayo
• Burna Boy, No Sign of Weakness

Asake and Ayra Starr also feature across the single and artiste categories. Davido, Wizkid and Burna Boy are all in the album race, so the longer wait leaves a lot of Lagos pride on hold.

Why it matters

Moving the Headies to Toronto was always a statement: a big diaspora market and a large Nigerian audience abroad. A delay of nearly half a year gives the organisers time to get the logistics right, but it also leaves nominees and fans in limbo for the rest of 2026. We will update this story when the venue and full schedule are announced.

For more on the artists in the field, see our pages for Rema and Tems, and our recent coverage of Ayra Starr's Starrgirl World Tour.