With the fate of concerts and end of year parties hanging in balance, show organisers are hoping for slightly relaxed measures for already planned events to usher in the New Year to take place. Since September where concerts and public gatherings were gradually reopened, a number of concerts had already set the tempo for a frenzied festive season and end of year activities, including concerts but all that is now hanging in balance. A cabinet meeting chaired by the President on December 15, issued new directives in the wake of the Omicron variant arriving in Rwanda, putting temporary restrictions on public events and concerts. Regarding already planned concerts, the cabinet said Rwanda Development Board (RDB) will review them case-by-case and issue specific directives. Otherwise, live band performances and nightclub activities are all on hold and that is unlikely to change until the festive season ends. The Minister of Local Government, Jean Marie Vianney Gatabazi, said on Wednesday that all karaoke activities or live band performances are on hold, unless they are happening at weddings, just to entertain guests and not to bring people together to dance. Several artistes had been lined up to perform at Christmas and end of year concerts but show organisers are yet to figure out if they can go ahead and organise the events with the hope that they can happen with precaution. Bruce Intore Twagira, CEO of Intore Entertainment, says they had planned a number of events for the festive season and to usher in the New Year but their fate is now hanging in balance. “We had so much planned for the festive season including the known ROC NYE party that happens on December 31 but we also believe that health should come first. “We shall work hand-in-hand with the institutions in charge to see what we can do for the festive season. We are still waiting for the detailed guidelines from RDB to be able to plan accordingly,” Twagira says. He adds that a few events they had planned for this weekend, including the Jali x Inki show, are postponed for a later date which shall be communicated in the near future. Event organiser and CEO of RG Consult, Remmy Lubega, says they had planned several events but the Covid-19 situation has nipped them in the bud. “The situation is not inviting, especially for travelling acts coming into the country, where they get quarantined for three days and have to do all the tests. This is a huge expense for us. “So, we are discussing internally to see how to achieve this while we also put into consideration the health, safety and wellness of everyone. We are observing the situation. We have our plans on hold for now as we see how it unfolds,” the Kigali Jazz Junction organiser says. He points out that it is hard to hold an artiste for more than four days just to prepare one event, adding that this means compensating the artiste for the bookings he or she may have to cancel elsewhere just to do your event. He adds that the travel restrictions will make it hard to explore options for a great variety of entertainment featuring artistes from other countries. “We may end up depending on local talent which may also be overly exposed and having nothing new to showcase within a short period of time, hence making the events less attractive for the festive season. However, we are keeping positive,” Lubega says, pointing out that they are meeting with concerned institutions, including Rwanda Convention Bureau (RCB) to agree on the way forward. Bruce Melodie during his 10-year anniversary concert at Kigali Arena. Photos/File
