Abidjan: AFCON nights just keep getting livelier

Abidjan never sleeps. That is putting it mildly. During AFCON 2023 that has been truer than ever, with the nights getting even hotter, especially after the Ivorian national team, reprieved as one of the best third-placed sides, then went through to the quarter-finals at Senegal's expense this Monday 29 January 2024. The Ivorian economic capital has lived to the rhythm of fireworks and long convoys of parading cars. Ivory Coast have just beaten Senegal. It is total madness, after the team scraped into the round of 16 by the skin of their teeth. They had to wait for Morocco's final match, a 1-0 win over Zambia, to finish among the best 3rd-placed teams. Then came the shock win over the Senegalese giants, beaten on penalties in the round of 16, to everyone's surprise, in Yamoussoukro.

Automatically, every hotspot in the West African megacity filled up with people. "I never go out partying during the week, but today is a special day. Ivory Coast showed their strength against Senegal to reach the quarter-finals. That deserves partying until morning", says Koffi Pascale, met in a maquis, a bar or open-air restaurant, in Yopougon. She was with her friends, each as beautiful as the next, with prominent backsides. "I don't drink alcohol, but today it's anything goes ", she adds, drunk on happiness and almost tipsy. At the next table, two guys are watching. They are waiting for the right moment to turn on the charm.

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In Abidjan, everything is toasted. People drown their sorrows in alcohol or celebrate happy moments with a drink in hand. It is part of daily life. At night all cats are grey, as the singer Meiway, founder of the Zoblazo rhythm, puts it. It is a dance performed with a white handkerchief in hand. On the bar street in Angré, his songs "On a gagné" and "Godeba" are played non-stop. There are no seats left, but do you need to sit down to drink? "When I sit, I feel stifled. So even when there is no seat, it doesn't bother me. The main thing is to look at the women, flirt, put on a show, enjoy the evening", explains Kra Kouassi, well into his forties, in Ivorian-flavoured French. Like many men, he is looking for a beautiful woman to spend his money on. "Le paiya", spending without counting, has reached unimaginable levels at this AFCON. The most listened-to song of the tournament, "Coup de marteau", which has racked up 18 million views on YouTube in a month, sums it up neatly with the line "Si tu es fatigué faut djô hein, nous on est là". In other words, "if you're drunk, you can go to bed, not us".

The AFCON of partying

Abidjan's reputation as a party city has grown even more during AFCON 2023, which began on 13 January 2024. Every visitor will tell you so. Everywhere, it's a party. Whether on days of defeat (0-4 against Equatorial Guinea) or days of victory (1-1, 5 penalties to 4 against Senegal). "This AFCON is already a big success, in terms of surprises on the pitch and in terms of organisation. In Algiers, I rarely go out except to eat with family, but here I'm out all the time ", says Hichem M., an Algerian journalist who left Bouaké for the capital after his country's elimination. Abidjan is like Hollywood. Just as you spot screen stars by day, you meet football stars here at night. Adebayor, Kalou, Drogba, Eto'o and Mboma, among others, draw the crowds. From Onyx to Mandjaro, it is bet after bet to see who among friends will run out of steam first. The AFCON of hospitality quickly turned into the AFCON of partying.

It is 6:00 in the morning, but it is as if they had all just woken up. All the customers on the bar street seem revived by the morning sunshine. And it has nothing to do with Ivory Coast's penalty shootout win over Senegal's Lions of Teranga. It is simply second nature to them. While outside the sun is already beaming with the first light of day, three women of the night, so drunk they can barely stand on their stilettos, flag down a taxi. At the same moment, a group of young men pass by in a gleaming vehicle. They sing at the top of their voices amid deafening horns. They pull up beside the women, who are ready to hop into the red car. "Where are you going?" asks one of the guys. The women look at each other and smile. No room for hesitation. "Plans have changed, let's go and eat placali (editor's note: a dish made from cooked cassava paste served with a sticky sauce)", he suggests. And off they go again!

Sanh Séverin