The Headies have announced that its 18th edition will be held in Toronto, Canada.

The announcement was made on Monday by Headies founder, Ayo Animashaun, during a press briefing in Victoria Island, Lagos.

Speaking at the event, Headies founder, Ayo Animashaun, disclosed that although the main ceremony will take place in Toronto, the organisers are determined to ensure that Nigerian audiences remain at the centre of the experience.

Although the exact date for the ceremony has yet to be unveiled, Animashaun confirmed that travel company Wakanow has partnered with the organisers to enhance the experience for attendees travelling from Nigeria to Canada.

Explaining the rationale behind taking the awards ceremony abroad, Animashaun stressed the need for The Headies to diversify its revenue streams in line with leading international award platforms.

“Most of the awards in the world that you see that are big, that you talk about, they have four or five sources of revenue. Here we have only one, everybody talks about sponsorship,” he said.

Drawing parallels with the Grammy Awards, he added, “They have state funding. During COVID, Grammy left Los Angeles and went to Madison Square in New York because LA was shut down.

The Headies first moved outside Nigeria in 2022 and 2023, when the 15th and 16th editions were held in Atlanta, Georgia, before returning home in 2024.