The good, the bad and the ugly

DID the 10-day Harare International Carnival 2017 spawn any benefits for Zimbabwe? Indeed, there were some positives that came with the festivities but there were also negatives. For starters, Harare residents got time to interface with people from different cultural backgrounds.

With over 20 countries participating in the carnival, locals got to see how other people in the world go about expressing their cultures. The masses also got a chance to witness world-class performances for free, something that would have cost them a load of money had they been asked to pay.

This freebie approach helped some get time to unwind and refresh their minds - and forget about all the troubles of their lives, at least for a moment.

The hospitality sector got a massive boost - those that visited from other cities within the country and the international guests were booked in hotels and lodges in and around the capital.

The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) - organisers of the event -are yet to release the statistics that give a clear picture of how money was spent and the impact of this gigantic event on the economy. The 2015 carnival was estimated to have generated US$25 million in revenue. Could this one have done better or not?

For instance, this year saw the introduction of the “Happy Week” which allowed people to engage in public drinking. The last carnival only legalised this for a day and the streets of Harare were heavily littered with empty bottles and cans as people were heavily imbibing.

This year, despite putting in place a week-long waiver on public drinking, it seemed people did not drink much, in fact, it was business as usual in the CBD - some have said this reflects on just how tough things have become, economically, since the last carnival.

Another plus is that the artistes themselves, both local and international, got jobs - so there was employment creation.

With close to 10 side events happening before the highlight event - the Street Party -some artistes were booked for two to three events, meaning they managed to make a killing.

However, there was a cloud of disorder hanging over the carnival and this blame goes to the organisers - the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority. Unlike in other years where all events got enough publicity, this year the ZTA’s major focus appeared to be solely on the mega finale gig dubbed “Battle of the Limpopo”, which took place at Robert Mugabe Square.

Because of this, many of the side events such as the Harare International Carnival Dancehall Fiesta, which was held at the Harare Gardens on Friday September 8 was a major flop due to poor publicity. One artiste after the other got up on stage to perform to their colleagues as well as less than 100 attendees. Another event which did not do well in terms of numbers was the Rhumba Night, to name but a few.

Another area of concern was the poor coordination of events during the Street Party. It appeared that they were very few artistes participating as there were long periods between one presentation and the next.

To make matters worse, ZTA stewards failed to control the crowds, resulting in people going beyond the barricades, thus interfering with the acts - making it difficult for the procession to smoothly flow.

The quality of some of the presentations was also not well polished. Some costumes were poorly done and the acts showed that more rehearsal was needed.

Kudos to the likes of Jah Prayzah and Soul Jah Love for pimping up their floats and ensuring that they were lively and hence managing to attract the attention of attendees.

Now to the Battle of the Limpopo, no doubt, the organisers through sponsorship from their major sponsor - BigTime Strategic Group - brought in a superb stage, big enough for the multitudes that thronged the Robert Mugabe Square to have good view of the performers from various angles.

However, the sound system they used was very weak in terms of amplifying the sound to the huge crowd. Only those at the front were able to get the real feel of the vibe from the stage but unfortunately there wasn’t much dancing space up there. At the back, you could not hear much though you had much room to gyrate.

However, despite this glitch, people generally had a good time being entertained by various artistes from all over Africa.

Going forward, the ZTA should focus more on educating people on what a carnival is and what they want to achieve by hosting it.

Many people are still in the dark as to what the carnival is about and even the business sector will not part with its monies because they do not know what it is and how exactly it benefits them.

At the moment it appears to be just this one humungous party, but if measures are taken to explain the business side of the event to various stakeholders, then and only then can the Harare International Carnival begin to develop into an industry such as is the case in Brazil.