Online Reporter
Prince Mushawevato
ATTENDING big local music concerts and sporting events often stirs both excitement and anxiety among revellers.
While the events themselves promise satisfaction, it is the process of paying and gaining entry that leaves many cringing.
The experience is often chaotic.
Stampedes — sometimes triggered by rogue bouncers, opportunistic criminals or impatient partygoers trying to skip queues or make last-minute purchases — have become common at showbiz and sporting events.
Cases of fake tickets detected at venues have also been recorded.
“The long queues are very inconvenient,” said Zimbabwe Olympic Committee chief executive officer Marlene Chiedza Gadzirayi.
“Sometimes you have to go very early and, in some cases, there is no entertainment before the event. You are just there because you want to avoid the stampedes, pickpocketing and other security issues caused by waiting in a crowded place for too long.”
Arts, sports and recreation are multi-million-dollar industries that require proper systems to reach their full potential.
Many opine that recognising sport, arts and recreation as formal industries would lead to the creation of policies and structures that promote growth.
Experts believe this would allow the sector to contribute meaningfully to economic growth.
Fortunately, a digital wave sweeping across the country is proving to be a panacea.
This evolution, spearheaded by JIVE Zimbabwe — an events management company — is addressing key pain points by introducing a digital solution.
Their new digital ticketing system has been successfully tested at various events countrywide.
“It quickens the process and brings a lot of professionalism to how we handle our events. It is an essential aspect of event management when you want to ensure that fans are not inconvenienced before they even enjoy the event they are attending,” said Gadzirayi.
“We need to go further and assign seat numbers online, but of course, that can come later. The move is long overdue as we want to move towards world-class sporting administration as a nation. The system also brings convenience and safe tickets. When purchasing manually, you often do not know which ticket is correct or not, which is all eradicated through the online platform. Also, there are change issues that waste time at the gates when change is not readily available after payment.”
The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) has applauded the development.
“The council is advocating for the evolution of technology; we must stay at par with what others are doing elsewhere. Through such a facility, people can book their tickets online. Also, since we have a statistics crisis in our sector, this will help us have digital statistics that will give a clear picture of the number of people who attend a particular show,” said NACZ communications and marketing manager Agga Nyabinde.
“Likewise, this works well in ending chaos at events. In most developed countries, they use a cashless system, especially for festivals. One attends a gig with just a QR code on their phone showing they paid online. This eradicates corruption and manipulation of gates by bouncers.”
At the recently held Bira Rembira Festival, hosted at Heritage Village in Harare, the benefits of an organised ticketing system were evident.
While the event was free, a section was reserved for paying guests who booked tables online.
Access to this area and backstage platforms required a digital ticket. Even food stalls for vendors were sold through the same system.
“We sold tables using the platform. A unique and secure ticket is generated and sent to the purchaser’s email. We are also rolling out SMS and WhatsApp notifications to send event details,” said JIVE Zimbabwe founder and director Benjamin Nyandoro.
Renowned music promoter Tich Mharadze — famed for the Kadoma Music Festival and other major events — has adopted the digital ticket system for his upcoming event scheduled for October 11.
“It is a new phenomenon in the country that, if properly embraced, will bring order to the sport, arts and recreation sector. Confusion and chaos will be a thing of the past,” Nyandoro noted.
“Rogue bouncers and criminals that create fake tickets or prey on innocent event-goers each time there is chaos will be left high and dry.”
The platform is designed to bring convenience to both organisers and event-goers.
The system mirrors practices in developed countries, where ticket purchases for shows or sporting events are made in advance, while on-the-day purchases are discouraged or even prohibited.
“We need to move with the times as a country. Chaotic scenes at entry and exit points should be a thing of the past,” added Nyandoro.
“People have been seriously injured in these melees, which is harmful to the sector.”
Online ticket purchases come with a redemption solution that allows attendees to scan and enter events without assistance.
“There are automated turnstiles that let you buy a ticket online and go straight to the gate without needing a physical ticket. It is an express service and a first in Zimbabwe,” he said.
The platform also offers support packages for event organisers and makes it easy for them to reconcile the number of people who have attended a particular event.
