African Song Contest 1

The first edition of African Song Contest took place in Cairo, Egypt, following the AFBU's meeting where Cairo won the poll beating Morocco and South Africa in order to host the inaugural edition of the contest.

The winning song this edition came from Mauritania. Mauritania was represented by Marieme and her song "Freedom", and they scored 184 points. Mauritania finished 21 points ahead of the runner up: Algeria.

Algeria was represented by Mauvas Oeil and her song "Mektoub", receiving 163 points.

The voting contained of 50% Jury vote and 50% Televote.

Country bidding
Only 3 countries submitted bidding forms to the African Broadcasting Union and then the poll was done within the remaining 18 countries in 2 rounds.

Venue bidding
Only two main venues were announced as possible venues for the competition to be held. With both of them placing in Cairo.

The host city had to be near a major airport. The venue must be available for at least six weeks before the contest and one week after the conclusion of the contest The venue must not be open-air, but an air-conditioned building with a capacity of at least 5,000 and a minimum ceiling height of 15 metres (49 ft), insulated for sound and light. The green room must be located as close to the arena as possible (or within it), with a capacity of 300.

Hosting city
Cairo (/ˈkaɪroʊ/ KY-roh; Arabic: القاهرة‎, romanized: al-Qāhirah, pronounced [ælˈqɑːhɪɾɑ], Coptic: ϯⲕⲉϣⲣⲱⲙⲓ) is the capital and largest city of Egypt. The Cairo metropolitan area, with a population of 21.3 million, is the largest metropolitan area in the Arab world, the second largest in Africa, and the sixth largest in the world. Cairo is associated with ancient Egypt, as the famous Giza pyramid complex and the ancient city of Memphis are located in its geographical area. Located near the Nile Delta, Cairo was founded in 969 AD during the Fatimid dynasty, but the land composing the present-day city was the site of Ancient National Capitals whose remnants remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life, and is titled "the city of a thousand minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture. Cairo is considered a World City with a "Beta +" classification according to GaWC.

Today, the Egyptian capital has the oldest and largest film and music industries in the Arab world, as well as the world's second-oldest institution of higher learning, Al-Azhar University. Many international media, businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in the city; the Arab League has had its headquarters in Cairo for most of its existence.

With a population of over 9 million spread over 453 km², Cairo is by far the largest city in Egypt. An additional 9.5 million inhabitants live in close proximity to the city. Cairo, like many other megacities, suffers from high levels of pollution and traffic. The Cairo Metro is one of the only two metro systems in Africa (the other being in Algiers, Algeria), and ranks amongst the fifteen busiest in the world, with over 1 billionannual passenger rides. The economy of Cairo was ranked first in the Middle East in 2005, and 43rd globally on Foreign Policy's 2010 Global Cities Index.

Yasmine Al Massri
Yasmine Al Massri is an actress, dancer, video artist and human rights advocate. She was born in Beirut, Lebanon to a Palestinian father and an Egyptian mother. She is a French and American citizen. She made her film debut in the 2007 film Caramel. In 2015, Massri starred as Nimah Amin and Raina Amin, identical twins in the ABC thriller series Quantico. Massri has made her big screen début in the 2007 critically acclaimed Lebanese LGBT-themed comedy-drama film, Caramel, directed by Nadine Labaki. The film was presented at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, For Caramel she received the Best Actress Award at the 2007 Abu Dhabi Film Festival, and the same year a Best Actress nomination at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Following Caramel, she starred in the internationally produced films Al-mor wa al rumman, Al Juma Al Akheira, and Miral.

In 2014, Massri made her debut on American television, in a starring role on the NBC drama series, Crossbones opposite John Malkovich. In 2015, she was cast alongside Priyanka Chopra and Aunjanue Ellis in the ABC thriller Quantico as two characters — identical twins Nimah and Raina Amin.

In May 2016, Massri became a citizen of the United States.

Sherine
Sherine Sayed Mohamed Abdel-Wahab (Arabic: شيرين سيد محمد عبد الوهاب‎; born October 8, 1980), known professionally by the mononym Sherine (Arabic: شيرين‎), is a prominent Egyptian singer, actress, TV host and personality, and a former judge on MBC's The Voice: Ahla Sawt. Her voice is considered as one of the most powerful and unique in Egypt. Sherine starred opposite to Egypt's comedy star Ahmed Helmy in Mido Mashakel (Arabic: ميدو مشاكل‎). The 2003 film was directed by Mohamed El-Naggar. In addition, she starred in the Ramadan Egyptian series Taree'i (Arabic: طريقي‎; English: My Road), June 2015. The series depicts her as a young lady who struggles in achieving her lifelong dream of becoming a famous singer due to social restriction, regulations and opposition from her family. Other actors/actresses starring in the show were the big Egyptian actor Mahmoud El Gendi, Egyptian actress Sawsan Badr, Egyptian actor Ahmad Fahmy and Syrian actor Basel Khayat. The drama is written by Tamer Habib and directed by Mohamed Shaker. Sherine used to serve as a judge on the show The Voice Ahla Sawt, but in 2017 was replaced by Elissa. Sherine was the host of her own talk-show, Sherry's Studio (Arabic: شيري ستوديو‎), on the Egyptian network, DMC, which premiered in January 2017. Her first ever concert in Saudi Arabia, after the kingdom's new entertainment laws hosting several celebrities and artists from around the world, was on June 19, 2018, in a private hall in King Abdullah Sports City of Jeddah.