Kanya's Blog

So it’s been another busy couple of weeks over at MOBO headquarters. As you will all know by now, last week we announced the very exciting news that the MOBO Awards 2010 will be held in Liverpool at the Echo Arena. On a beautifully sunny day in Liverpool we were joined by the hugely successful international recording artist – and our new MOBO Ambassador - Leona Lewis! As a two time MOBO Award winner, Leona was the perfect choice to join us in making this announcement. Fittingly, Leona had only a few days earlier performed at the Liverpool Echo Arena herself on her national live tour. Taking time out of her busy touring schedule, Leona arrived for the announcement looking as glamorous and stylish as ever, sporting her new chic and sophisticated look. It was great to catch up with Leona and have a proper chat, the first time we’ve had a chance to do so since I presented her with her two MOBO Awards in 2008.

One of the things we have always tried to inspire through MOBO is passion, dedication and determination. So when I received an email from seventeen year old Ben Osu telling me that he and his friend Janice Myers had started a campaign to bring the MOBO Awards to Liverpool their home city, and had already garnered over 1,500 supporters in just a few weeks, my attention was grabbed. The campaign then received the backing of Liverpool city council and Liverpool Echo Arena, it was great to see how quickly and how passionately everyone got together to convince us that Liverpool was the right choice to host the 15th Annual MOBO Awards.

Liverpool has such a rich musical and cultural heritage. One of the world’s most famous bands was born and raised in Liverpool. They are of course, The Beatles. They were the band that changed the face of popular music by incorporating elements of R&B, Soul and Blues into their unique style of rock ‘n’ roll. Liverpool is a city steeped in musical heritage and with a passionate local community, this makes it the perfect location for this year's show.

As well as announcing Liverpool as our host city, this was the perfect opportunity to announce details of the BeMOBO Award, which recognises the work of an organisation or individual that has made a major difference to national or international communities. The award is intended to recognise the efforts being made by charitable groups, education organisations, unsung heroes and bastions of local communities. This year it will be awarded to nominees in the north west of England.

After some words from councilor Wendy Simon and general manager of the Echo Arena Tim Banfield, it was time for the MOBO Baton to be handed over from last year's host city Glasgow to this year's host Liverpool. Doing the honors were DJ and MOBO friend Paul N'jie from Glasgow and MOBO Ambassador Leona Lewis. They were also joined by Ben Osu and Janice Myers who were there to see their dream become a reality.

Stay tuned to MOBO.com for all the latest news on everything MOBO.

Until next time….

KK