It was two days of buzz and excitement in Lagos when Nigeria- born supermodel Oluchi Onweagba-Orlandi brought her Africa's Next Top Model audition to Victoria Island.
Oluchi, winner of the debut edition of M-Net Face of Africa Model Competition, is producing the franchise of America Next Top Model created by supermodel Tyra Banks, for Africans and to be filmed entirely on African soil.
Speaking at the press conference organised on Monday, July 22 to herald the audition for eligible contestants which took place the following day, July 23, Oluchi expressed excitement at the onset of the reality series in Africa, with production to begin next month in scenic Cape Town, South Africa.
"The African version of the franchise is long overdue and I expect the show to be a smashing success across the continent. My company, LuLu Productions will be partnering with Never Machine Productions with Gavin Wratten as Co-Executive Producer and also one of the big media houses to help make this show a big success.
It would be coming with a lot of African spice", she revealed. Eight countries had been selected for the casting call throughout Africa including Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Angola, Tanzanian and Nigeria. Auditions have held in nearly all the countries but Cape Town will host the last two legs of auditions on Sunday, July 28 and August 1.
Explaining the choice of filming location for the series which is proudly supported by South African Tourism, Oluchi said she believes that South Africa has the professional experience having being involved in the modelling and fashion industry for a while.
"But that isn't saying we wouldn't come to Nigeria or other African countries for the next season". However, the show's host and executive producer refused to divulge names of the judges for her series but she hinted that Africa would see a lot of African and African- American supermodels like Iman, Duro Olowu and Tyra Banks, among others.
In addition, awardwinning Nigerian fashion photographer, Kelechi Amadi-Obi will be part of the photography team to shoot exotic sessions on location in Cape Town.
The original reality modelling competition has been successfully adopted in other countries like Britain, Ireland, Romania and Australia; Oluchi believes that Africa should not be left behind. According to her, it would further boost the continent's image globally.
National Mirror