Bulawayo to hosts 40 years celebrations

FORTY years after Independence the national celebration finally come to Bulawayo. The significance of this can never be lost to anyone who lives outside Harare, and more so for Bulawayo citizens.

We could say a lot about the political implications of the national celebrations coming to the City of Kings and Queens but this is not the platform for it and so we shall focus on what it should mean to artistes and the local creative community.

Bulawayo artistes and creative sector stand to benefit from the city hosting the national celebrations. This is the time to prove to the whole country what the city is capable of in terms of creativity — why it is called the creative hub of Zimbabwe. Also, local hotels, eating houses and events people should all benefit — that is if Harare does not do what it is known for and that is bringing everything from the capital city.

The national event will obviously have a number of events to celebrate this significant day. In the past we know of dinner galas, music galas, the main mass celebrations where the Head of State makes a speech. There are obvious other small events here and there. All these need some form of entertainment and creativity and Bulawayo artistes should benefit as they are hosting the celebrations this year. This is a call, a demand, to see local artistes on the forefront of the celebrations.

We know the arguments that always come. The obvious one is that this is a national event and therefore all artistes, from whatever part of the country should be part of the celebrations. We agree on the general rule. What we don’t agree and should not be allowed to happen is having the usual line-up that is dominated by the usual culprits. Let’s have something fresh, something we can all be proud of as a nation. If Bulawayo truly leads then surely the nation will be dazzled.

We have all been screaming that Bulawayo is the cultural hub of the country. The creative nexus of the country. We even sat down with the President and made presentations as to why Bulawayo should be made the cultural capital of the country. This is one chance to publicly demonstrate why we want this city declared a cultural hub. Let local artistes show and prove they have something special to contribute to the national image and identity of the country. Let the artistes lead in the spirit of national cohesion, unity and celebrations. These celebrations must have a Bulawayo face or else the whole exercise of taking them outside Harare will be a farce.

We know what happens with galas. We have been behind the scenes before. We know the general format of a musical gala. Everyone in this country does having seen so many in the last 10 years or so. But is there a chance to change that? Change the face of local galas? Like bring in new meaning, new format, new ways of doing them? Most of the galas have really been about music which most of the times have nothing to do with what is being celebrated. There is a need to put meaning to the performances, meaning to the celebrations. We know what the past 39 celebrations looked like. Same script. Same images. Everything same except perhaps the Presidential speech. This year can we see something different in Bulawayo. Something we will all remember years later, even if the celebrations don’t come back.

We all have attended the dinner evenings. Same setting. Same people. Same food. Same music. Same script. Can this also change too? We need a Bulawayo signature on this event, all of them. We have a month to go and we eagerly wait to see what Bulawayo creatives will bring to this year’s edition of the national celebrations.