Palace Hotel: Bulawayo’s new cultural Mecca

AS the curtains closed on 2023, the creative sector of Bulawayo was abuzz with new milestones, and at the heart of this cultural renaissance stood the Palace Hotel.

The hotel’s garden area transformed into a vibrant leisure hub, where patrons indulged in the simple pleasures of wining, dining, and dancing under the open sky.

The Palace Hotel emerged as the epicentre of entertainment, offering a wide-ranging mix of pool games, boxing matches, and live shows that consistently drew crowds beyond capacity. These events not only showcased established talents but also served as a launchpad for emerging artistes, giving them a platform to shine before live audiences.

Under the leadership of businessman Tapiwa “Gandz” Gandiwa, the year kicked off with the introduction of Palace Entertainment, an events management company that revolutionised the local scene.

Breaking away from the unreliable promoters of the past, Palace Entertainment delivered on its promises, ensuring that the artistes advertised were the ones who performed, much to the delight of the fans.

The artist line-up was meticulously curated to satisfy the diverse tastes of the revelers. From intimate gatherings of 200 to the record-breaking attendance of 500 at the Insimbi ZeZhwane debut gig, the events were a testament to the organisers’ attention to detail.

Throughout the year, the Palace Hotel played host to a constellation of stars, including Mzoe 7, Insimbi ZeZhwane, Godolude, Eze Energy, Bev and the Sexy Angels, Iyasa, Baba Harare, Enzo Ishall, and international sensations Master KG and Nkosazana Daughter, among others.

In an interview with Saturday Chronicle, Gandiwa said:

“When I took over the reins at Palace Hotel some years back, I made it a priority to first renovate the joint to meet the standards of a hotel found in the heart of Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, Bulawayo. The next step was to then spice up the hotel through creating local employment and this is what we are proud of as Palace Hotel to supporting Government’s initiatives of addressing lack of employment,” he explained.

His ambition extended beyond renovations, aiming to transform the local entertainment landscape.

“As a team, we identified a gap of lack of quality live entertainment in Bulawayo as most people host events occasionally during times like Easter, public holidays and the festive season. We felt this was not enough and as a joint with all the structures we had to come in with shows regularly on a weekly or fortnight basis and that’s what we surely did.

“As a listening stable, we would time to time consult with our patrons on which artistes to bring on stage and at times we would use the criteria of the popularity of artistes at that particular time. A good example is the chart-topping Nkosazana Daughter and Master KG. Focus was also directed to artistes from Bulawayo who we felt we should play a part in their breakthrough and l hope we achieved that,” said Gandiwa.

He declared that they would push young artists in all genres this year and set a high standard.

“We are a company that feels indebted to the rise of wannabe artistes and we have an open door policy that they should come to us and we give them the platform to shape their careers. We are promising our patrons another memorable year filled with great shows, great vibes and ultimately good entertainment,” said Gandiwa.–@mthabisi_mthire