The Best of Both Worlds show, which was scheduled for last Friday night in Harare, flopped because of logistical problems, the organiser said.
The gig meant to feature Jah Prayzah and Winky D, had been
put up by local promoter Kayse Connect and Gateway Stream Music and was
postponed at the 11th hour.
The venue was expected host 100 guests live, in line with
Covid-19 regulations, with the rest that were not on the list expected to
pay-per-view to watch the two-hour long show.
Guests were left dumbfounded after they were told the show
had been cancelled. Many demanded refunds of the US$50 they had paid in
advance, which were processed immediately.
Police were seen patrolling the venue after as disgruntled
fans continued to mill around. It took about an hour to clear the revellers,
just in time before the start of the Covid-19 curfew at 10pm.
However, many fans were displeased, considering that the
stage was already set, with masters of ceremonies ready.
Sources said jealousy from some “big” local promoters could
have led to the cancellation of the show after they allegedly petitioned the police
demanding that the event be stopped, failure of which, they would host theirs
the following day.
But some say that the “Best of both Worlds” organisers had
been approved by police to host the event but strictly following the Covid-19
restrictions.
Last week, the venue they wanted to use hosted gospel diva,
Janet Manyowa, under strict measures with 100 people attending.
The difference was that Manyowa’s show was an extended play
launch-concert, while Jah Prayzah and Winky D were only to “face-off”.
Again, both shows had nothing to do with politics, as long
as they adhered to Government regulations on Covid-19.
In an interview, Kayse Connect representative Elton Kurima
took the blame for the postponement of the event.
“The event was not cancelled, but postponed. It has nothing
to do with politics or clearance with the relevant authorities as everything
was cleared. “People should speculate with facts to avoid causing unnecessary
alarm,” he said.
Kurima said the show was scheduled to take place between
6pm and 8pm but the organisers had a series of meetings with various officials
who were “doing verifications”.
“And it took most time on us. I took the blame on the
logistical part, as that could have been avoided. However, when we finished it
was too late to start because it was a two-hour program and we did not want to
exceed it because of the curfew time.
“We decided to shelve the show to a later date since
everything is in place,” he said. A new date will be announced later this week.
Kurima said he spoke and apologised to the parties involved
from MCs, artists and other service providers, who all agreed to continue on
the new date. “We haven’t lost anything yet and we are happy with new improvements.
Those who wanted refund were paid off the very same day while those who had
faith in us agreed to wait. We are obliging to the Covid-19 regulations and
restrictions; if it takes time to have the show, we wait,” he said.
Already, 70 people have paid for the live show while over 2
000 were on the pay-per-view. “My refund policy still remains the same, the
same ticket will be used, rather than keep the link for now,” he added.
On rumours that some promoters wanted to sabotage him,
Kurima said it was merely bar talk, which cannot be substantiated.
“People talk and are entitled to their opinion. I don’t
have bad blood with anyone that I know of. I haven’t seen the so-called
petition, neither I would want to verify or talk about it,” he said.
National Arts Council of Zimbabwe director Nicholas Moyo
said he was aware of the event. “The guys came to us and explained their
concept. We told them to comply with Covid-19 regulations,” he said. Herald
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