Africa’s longest running and biggest reality TV series, Big Brother Africa returns with a bang in Season 6 dubbed Big Brother Amplified on Sunday evening. To kick things off in grand style, Iconic hip hop superstar Busta Rhymes will headline the two-hour launch show at 19:00 CAT.  The legendary performer is jetting into Johannesburg this weekend to perform on the Big Brother stage on a night when the continent will meet the new Big Brother housemates!

Meanwhile in an exciting new development, the official Big Brother Amplified website (www.mnetafrica.com/bigbrother) has broken the series’ tradition by giving eager fans a sneak peek of the 14 housemates before they go into the house on Sunday. They are:

TV broadcaster Bhoke from Tanzania (26)

Nightclub owner Confidence, from Ghana (37)

Singer and student Hanni from Ethiopia (22)

Rapper and Radio host Herminio from Mozambique (32)

Recording Artist and Marketing/Sales manager Jossy from Namibia (28)

Radio and Club DJ Lomwe from Malawi (27)

Actor and acting coach Luclay from South Africa (28)

Actress Millicent from Kenya (28)

Radio DJ Mumba from Zambia (24)

Artist and Musician Sharon O from Uganda (25)

Model Vimbai from Zimbabwe (24)

Radio Presenter Vina from Nigeria (26)

TV Presenter and Model Weza from Angola (26)

Entrepreneur, artist and marketer Zeus from Botswana (24)

Now, in keeping with tradition, audiences can get a sneak peek at the redesigned Big Brother house just before the series kicks off. Bright, bold and brand new, the house this year is a celebration of color, with vivid oranges, fresh greens and cheerful pinks complementing funky purple, sunshine yellow and cool blue.  Fusing retro hip style with more modern contoured shapes, the house is playful, artistic and eclectic. It’s a showcase for pop culture, filled with interesting contrasts and dynamic wall art while remaining a light filled space that is welcoming and warm.  Fitted with all the modern appliances, the house is best described as friendly and fashionable, created to offer real comfort and great fun to the housemates. Including two bedrooms, a long kitchen, a storeroom, an open plan living room plus a large garden evergreen with artificial grass and two separate seating areas, the Big Brother house also includes a large bathroom. Most importantly, the Diary Room (now called the Chat Room) is back at the heart of things where housemates will spend time talking directly to Biggie.

Amongst the décor, the house also functions as a fully-fledged studio environment and includes 120 microphones and 54 cameras, including brand new ‘cue-ball’ cameras that allow for even greater camera flexibility and scope, an essential on a series that runs 24/7 live for 91 days. The big question this year is of course…will Big Brother have any surprises like last year’s Barn which was only revealed weeks after the show’s launch? That remains to be seen

In another exciting new development, the BIG BROTHER AMPLIFIED Launch Show will be going multi-media, with live steaming of the two hour opening show on the official website www.mnetafrica.com/bigbrother at no cost, marking the first time in the history of the African series that this has happened! And for audiences who log on early, there’s a special 15 minute pre-show exclusive to online audiences that begins at 18.45 CAT.