Zimbabwe: Best of Both Worlds Show Postponed

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.

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