Chronicle Editor
Mthabisi Tshuma, Showbiz Correspondent
ORGANISERS of the Switch On Zimbabwe – United Against Covid-19 online show that was marred by technical glitches this past weekend are promising a more vibrant event to make up for the flopped gig as they believe online shows are the future.
The inaugural online show on Saturday which had a diverse array of artistes including Jeys Marabini, Mbo Mahocs, Makho Ndlovu, Those Guys Vacho, Nyasha David, Lee McHoney, Ammara Brown, Asaph, Bekezela, Jah Prayzah and Leornard Mapfumo was held on Facebook as a way to unite and cheer up Zimbabweans during the lockdown against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned resulting in most ditching the show.
Following this mishap, one of the organisers of the show, Napoleon “Napster” Nyanhi through his Jacaranda Culture and Media Entertainment (JCME) company, said they are now working on making it up for their audience who felt robbed of their data as they were made to watch adverts while organisers battled to rectify the technical glitch.
“The glitch was caused by a very simple, but unexplainable technical issue. Our streaming machine crashed then the hard drive that had the graphics and other materials got corrupted somehow. This made it impossible for us to proceed with the live stream timely,” explained Napster.
“We had to start the process all over again and that led to a 54-minute break from the live broadcast.”
But to make up for this, Napster said they will be uploading the full show on their YouTube page while they plan for other events of this kind.
“The good news is that we managed to capture everything we had hoped to capture and the show will be available on YouTube for all to watch amazing Zimbabwean talent and still donate to the cause of fighting Covid-19,” he said.
He said the Switch On Zimbabwe event was inspired by the Global Citizen: One World Together at Home show, a global broadcast that was streamed online last month in support of frontline healthcare workers.
“Steve Zhao my business partner/boss and I decided to host a big benefit concert that would bring all Zimbabweans together to fight Covid-19 while laughing and dancing after watching the Global Citizen One World show.
“We studied how they achieved the flawless production in the States and we put a strong team together and pulled on every relationship, contact and associate to make it happen,” said Napster.
However, the challenges they faced in hosting this event, Napster said, were an eye opener for them.
“We need to all dream bigger and push harder. We can overtake Nollywood and challenge Hollywood. All we need is self-belief and boldness. We had a tough night on Saturday as there were so many moving pieces to manage, but we learnt some priceless lessons,” he said. –@mthabisi_mthire.
Online Reporter