RIPPLE EFFECTS OF CANCELLING EVENTS

MBABANE – The postponement and cancellation of shows has had a huge impact on the pockets of event organisers.

In interviews with renowned Eswatini event organisers that were conducted by the Entertainment Desk to develop the implications that came with cancelling and postponing, it come out that their main concern was money lost. This money, according to them, was lost during the preliminary stages of putting together the event and venue. Some of the interviewed organisers preferred to keep themselves, and amounts of monies, anonymous. The country started seeing the postponement and cancellation of events and festivals over a week ago due to the coronavirus outbreak. Some of the events that were postponed include MTN BUSHFIRE Festival 2020, Worship Encounter, The Roast of Dr Shakes, Craft Festival 2020, Amapiano Cooler Box Party, Pop Sunday, Beer Garden and many others.

Encounter

Lerato Mntshali, the organiser of Worship Encounter, said most promoters and event organisers that postponed shows might not be able to ever host those events or refund people because all event costs were paid in advance due to the nature of the business. She said cancellations oftentimes mean forfeiture, and rebooking is expected on the new date. “They remain at the mercy of the artists and suppliers for a compromise in changing dates. “Most of the smallest ones rely on ticket sales to cover the cost of the event, as they are smaller businesses who live from event to event,” said Mntshali. She said some who had taken a huge loss would never recover from it and was it easy to go under. “Those are the realities post the coronavirus pandemic. It would cost a minimum of E100 000 to host one of the size of our postponed event,” she said. Comedian Bonginkhosi ‘Dr Shakes’ Dlamini, who was slated to host The Roast of Dr Shakes on March 26 at Mega Lounge, said the event cost him a lot of money. Dlamini, however, did not disclose the exact amount he had lost.

Postponing

“Postponing the event has cost me a lot of money since we book venues, sound system and pay for marketing posters. “The money we have used just went down the drain. Now we will have to go and start afresh, new posters with new dates,” said Dlamini. When the Entertainment Desk asked an expert opinion from Larry Mhlanga, a renowned event organiser and artists manager, he said other than the money lost, time was also lost. Mhlanga also said a huge chunk of money was lost in securing venue for the event. “Venues normally paid in full and organisers do not advertise the venue without full payment. “Also, artists require full payment, some deposits before one even advertises. After you then have to pay for sound hire and advertising and these are normally non-refundable if the event is cancelled,” said Mhlanga.

Fraternity

This information is salt in a wound in the entertainment fraternity as last week, local entertainers made an outcry that they were worried that they would starve because there was no income after gigs were cancelled and hot spots were closed. ‘Sitofa yindlala’ (we will die of hunger), were the exact words they used. 1D, real name Wandile Dlamini, a hip hop DJ and music producer, said as entertainers, they would die from hunger as they were  currently unemployed, with the closure of hangout spots. “We will not be able to put food on the table,” said Dlamini. Phinda ‘Master P’ Dlamini, who is also a hip hop DJ, said the new developments in the entertainment industry were bad for everyone. “We have no bookings, meaning no money and this means no food. We cannot even say we will be working on other music projects during this time because it requires collaborating, which is a risk. We will just wait for things to be better,” said the award-winning DJ. Comedian Ndosh, real name Mfundo Simelane, said they felt retrenched without notice, adding that he was anticipating serious financial woes in the industry..

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