What had promised to be one of the biggest music events of 2018 in East London was a colossal flop this weekend, with artists performing for one another and a handful of die-hard fans.
The music component of the Eastern Cape Entertainment Star Awards, meant to fill the Buffalo City Stadium with tickets ranging from R150 to R1,000, ended up at the cosy GroundX Hotel lounge, west of East London, free of charge after funding was delayed at the 11th hour.
The Dispatch reported earlier in November the awards would be hosted by BCM and broadcast by renowned Black Entertainment Television (BET).
According to the poster, the lineup was to include stars Naak Musiq, Slique Angel, Jessica Mbangeni, Dumza Maswana, iFani, Phila Madlingozi, Busiswa and Betusile Mcinga.
When the Dispatch arrived at the venue after 11pm, most of the artists still hadn’t performed, almost eight hours after the event was scheduled to start.
When asked about the poor attendance, show organiser and renowned actor Tazz Ngida said: “Maybe call everyone who was meant to come and ask them why they did not come.”
Ngida said he had to change the venue because a sponsor – whom he refused to name – promised to fund him, but only after the event.
I think I was set up for failure. I am not going to mention names, but I will tell you why the change of venue: I could not afford a stadium that was R95,000,” he said.
By the time the Dispatch team left after 2am, only four of 13 artists had taken to the stage...