Support dwindles for SA artists in London

A leading promotions company specialising in bringing South African artists to the UK says there has been a notable decline in support for these and similar events over the past year.

London has long been seen as a lucrative destination for successful South African musicians and comedians thanks to a large expat population that exploded during the late 1990s and reached a peak in the early 2000s.

But Peter Walker of SAFFAevents said the number of expats had since decreased dramatically. In 2012 the UK’s Office for National Statistics estimated there were 209000 South Africans in the country.

“Having attended a recent Mango Groove concert in London and a number of other events, it has dawned on me SA-only events are slowly dying out due to a lack of support,” said Walker.

He said a change in visa regulations had a major impact on numbers.

“The entire visa process has changed and it is now not an easy task to apply to work in the UK anymore.”

Previously South Africans travelling to the UK could apply for a two-year working visa, an option that is no longer available as the British government cracks down on large-scale immigration.

1st Contact, a company that assists with immigration to the UK, said the number of South Africans applying for work visas to enter the UK had fallen from 29300 in 2004 to 2060 in 2012.

Alan Lindstrom, who runs online radio station Scatterlings of Africa.net from his London home, said the new regulations had impacted on the number of young South Africans moving to the UK.

“The number of South Africans employed in London over the last few years has dropped by 40%,” he said.

“There are no gap year kids coming over and the effect rolls on to the fact we are left with older South Africans.”

His view is shared by comedian Kevin Perkins, who has made the UK his home.

Better known by his alias Michael Naicker, Perkins said the South Africans left in London were all grown up.

“The ones who queued up outside SA gigs in London between 2003 and 2006 necking copious pints of beer, doing jello shots on the bar top and generally grabbing life by the b***s, are now married with kids, paying a mortgage and a loan on a crappy compact car.”

Homecoming Revolution CEO Angel Jones said South Africans were returning home from many countries, not just the UK, and the “brain drain” had been reversed.

“Over 350000 South Africans have returned home over the past five years and that number continues to rise.

“For every two people returning to South Africa one is leaving.

“The ripple effect of this is remarkable, with every skilled person returning creating nine new jobs in the informal and formal sectors.”

The organisation said research had shown lifestyle was one of the top reasons given by white South Africans returning home along with family connections and “a sense of belonging”.