Chronicle Editor
Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
Organisers of the Roil Bulawayo Arts Awards (RoilBAAs) and the Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo have expressed their desire to hold both events this year saying they have set dates but they will only release them when lockdown restrictions have been eased.
In the past the RoilBAA and Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo organisers would have by now announced dates for the events.
The situation changed last year following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic which forced Government to impose the lockdown which banned gatherings among other measures.
This saw the RoilBAAs which were set to be held on August 29 being moved to November 20 while the Intwasa Arts Festival was held in December instead of September.
Nkululeko Nkala, spokesperson of both events, said they had the 2021 dates in mind but could not share them yet as they are monitoring the situation.
“We want to hold the BAAs this year as well as Intwasa but we’re hoping that Government will ease the restrictions so that we can plan,” said Nkala.
He said it was important for the two events to be held after the lockdown restrictions have been relaxed to enable people to attend.
Nkala said the two events can only attract sponsors if conditions allow people to attend.
“Right now it’s hard to get corporate sponsorship as the companies won’t get the mileage that they want since there won’t be crowds at the events. The only way forward is for venues to be allowed to open for even a limited number of people,” he said.
Nkala said as organisers they were more than prepared to ensure they strictly observe health protocols if Government allows crowds to attend the events.
Last year the RoilBAAs ended prematurely after police walked on stage and stopped proceedings. This saw the city’s premium awards ceremony ending abruptly to the dismay of many arts fanatics. Police on the other hand justified their action saying they were forced to cut the party short after organisers failed to stick to agreed timelines.
Most events such as festivals and awards presentations were cancelled last year due to lockdown restrictions which banned crowds.
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