Great expectations as Tigo Fiesta is launched

Dar es Salaam. After so much speculation and negative vibe that it might not take place, the Tigo Fiesta is back and as revellers make merry, it is harvest time for the entertainers.

Though organisers are yet to name the exact date when it kicks off, they promise it is going to be one of a kind as different regions get the feel of festival, some for the first time.

The festival which has in the past comes with different themes every year has been christened ‘Tumekusoma’.

Some of the past themes were ‘Sambaza Upendo’ (Spread Love), ‘Twenzetu’ One Love, Bhaaasi, Hakuna Majotroo that became instant house hold names.

The deal between Clouds Media and Tigo, which among other things gives telecom giants Tigo this year’s naming rights for Fiesta 2017 will see the stirring event sweep through 15 regions of the country in what promises to be the most exhilarating festival yet.

Clouds Media Group’s Sebastian Maganga says the festival will roll out in regional towns such as Arusha, Kahama, Musoma, Mwanza, Tabora and Dodoma.

Also on the list is Iringa, Songea, Njombe, Morogoro, Tanga, Moshi, Mtwara and for the first time Sumbawanga will get a taste of the song and dance festival whose appeal has since transcended Tanzanian borders.

Out of the list, the most notable inclusion of the regional towns is Arusha given its past association with hooliganism that forced PrimeTime Promotions to strike it out of the list in 2011.

As the norm has been the extravaganza will reach its climax in Dar es Salaam with a grand performance that will feature the cream in the industry.

The telecom company on their behalf promise to showcase a plethora of internationally acclaimed and locally celebrated artists in a carnival full of good times, merriment, great art, splendid music and great offers which will roll on for several months across different parts of the country.

“Revelers should brace themselves for a breathtaking roller coaster of good music and exciting times from Tigo,” says Tigo’s William Mpinga.

Made in Tanzania stamp

Both Clouds Media Group and Tigo are however keeping the cards close to their chest with neither ready to divulge the list of artistes who are set to perform.

Even then sources privy to The Beat say it is going to be 100 per cent local in a celebration of the giant strikes made in the Bongo Flava industry over the past two decades.

“We have tried that route before and for many years. Though we can say it delivered results, the time is now right for us to explore what our own artistes can offer the audience that celebrates them,” says the source.

Last year’s trial of an all African cast might have worked for the organisers given the astronomical fees they have to pay for the American artistes to perform here, it, however, didn’t board very well with most revellers.

They hoped for some high profile western artiste, this will probably be the difficult part of the math that organisers will have to work out.

“Putting up a show of that magnitude requires massive investment that sometimes isn’t easy to recoup especially when it involves flying in Western artistes who bills run into hundreds of thousands of dollars,” quips one pundit.

Rich history

The party trail, which is now called Tigo Fiesta was born in the late 90s with the first show taking place at Slipway in Dar es Salaam, by then it was known as Summer Jam but due to negative publicity they had to change name plus several issues.

For the last decade the festival has continued to grow to accommodate more local artistes, genres and regions.

It has also over the years featured high profile performances from international artistes such as Shaggy, Kate De Luna, Lil Kim, Joe Thomas, Busta Rhymes, Koffi Olomide, Rick Ross, J Martins, Bracket, Yemi Alade, Ludacris, Tecno, Davido, Wizkid and many others.

The party trail that is into last half of its second decade has in the past left a rich trail of history that has kept thousands in the country and beyond entertained.

Career launch pad

According to Joseph Kusaga the CEO of Cloud Media Group, the festival was founded with the objective of bringing young people together and to promote local content.

“Our objective in the beginning after we set up the Mawingu studios and later the radio station was to promote our home grown artistes,” he once told the Beat .

The festival has evolved into an income generating venture that benefits almost everyone who is in that line of business.

“The artistes get paid, the vendors get to sell all sorts of items that revelers need, security companies get assignments, Hotels are booked to capacity because of guests who go to these towns for the gigs,” he once told The Beat.

Organisers say they have stuck to the objective of promoting laocal talent and content, an objective that they believe has been achieved as the festival has acted as a launch pad for several artistes’ career.

“We started off well, though we are yet to reach the whole country, through Fiesta we have managed to bring several artistes to the limelight.”

According to him the festival gives young artistes the audience that would have rather been difficult to get on their own. “After every season a new artiste comes up, like when Juma nature came up and in the last couple of years we have seen the rise of artistes such as Nandy and many others.” The talent search programme called Super Nyota which runs parallel to the tour has in the past years unearthed talent that have come to dominate the industry. The festival will also run the Tamadunika programme which is meant to promote traditional music across the country.

And through the Kipepeo programme the festival will visit several schools where they will meet young girls with dreams.

Challenges

There have been attempts to turn the festival into a live show experience in the past because this is what every reveller is yawning for.

But as many show promoters will admit, this remains as one of the greatest challenges of most of today’s Bongo Flava artistes save for a few, they are just okay with playback! The years of success have come with its fair share of challenges. Despite the festival having elevated itself to an international status and has been largely accepted.

But just like many other festivals, sustaining the event at the same level remains a major challenge that organisers have to contend with. It is, therefore, not a wonder that there was speculation that this year’s event had been shelved due to budgetary constraints.