The world tends to view Africa as some sort of single homogeneous entity but Africa is one of the most diverse continents on earth and even amongst this diversity Ethiopia stands out, and this week it shows why.

Uniquely amongst modern African countries Ethiopia never suffered from the indignity of colonialism and has a Christian tradition that predates that almost anywhere outside holy lands. It is the uniqueness of this ancient Christian tradition that forms the bedrock of this week’s festivities in Ethiopia.

Outside Ethiopia the celebration of new Millennium is a fading memory, but tonight in Addis Ababa and other cities, towns and villages across Ethiopia thousands will be joined in mass celebration to usher in the new century.

The Ethiopian calendar also called the Ge’ez calendar is based on calendar that was produced 125 years before that adopted by Europeans and the difference in the history of the calendars is the reason for the Ethiopian celebrations today. The Ethiopian authorities had hoped to use the celebration to promote the country as a tourist destination but security concerns has forced several activities to be scaled back or in some cases cancelled.

The centre piece of the celebration is a huge cultural festival staged in the multimillion dollar Millennium Central Hall built with funds provided by Saudi based Ethiopian billionaire Sheikh Mohammed al-Amoudi. The festival will feature local and international acts including the Black Eyed Peas.

The millennium celebrations kick off tomorrow and will run for a year to 11 September 2008.