Africa Oyé Festival is the largest celebration of live African music in the UK. Originally a smaller, multi-venue event, Oyé now attracts over fifty thousand people every June to Liverpool's Sefton Park. The festival showcases new and established African and Caribbean artists, plus musicians from across the diaspora whilst celebrating various aspects of the same cultures. Oyé has also been known to programme music from South America and the diaspora, with Salsa, Soca and Reggae proving popular additions to the festival. Africa Oyé is a non-profit organisation and registered charity. Entrance to the festival is free of charge, with the festival being partially funded by the Arts Council England North West and Liverpool City Council, in addition to donations from the public, sponsorship, advertising, in kind support and the revenue generated from pitched traders, merchandise and the Oyé beer tent. The introduction of the Trenchtown area that provided music to the people around the bar was a huge success. The more recent introduction of a second DJ stage, the Freetown area and the Oyé zone have also proven popular. There are over 100 stalls in the surrounding Oyé Village, selling a broad range of world foods, fashion and cultural experiences. Africa Oyé has one live music stage, hosting UK débuts for artists such as Tinariwen and Ba Cissoko. The festival has also attracted a wealth of international artists to Merseyside, including Bonga, Luciano, Baaba Maal and Max Romeo. A wide range of DJs can also perform throughout the weekend at the Trenchtown and Freetown stages. A recent independent Social Economic Impact Study outlined the many effects that Africa Oyé has on the Liverpudlian community. Besides Oyé's general efforts to further cultural understanding in Merseyside, the festival brought in £1.3 million to the Liverpool economy in 2011.. As one of the earliest festivals in the UK calendar, Oyé occurs in the latter half of June. The festival has no authorised camping area, so accommodation for artists and audience alike is sought among Liverpool's many local hotels. History Beginning in 1992 as a series of small gigs in Liverpool's city centre, the event has consistently grown in size and popularity, forcing a move in 2002 to its present home in Liverpool's picturesque Sefton Park. 2009 saw Oyé attract an audience of over 20,000 people, increasing to over 50,000 in 2010 and 2011. The festival was briefly a ticketed (£5) event in 2011