Easter festival still on

This year’s Thaba Nchu Easter Festival has since its announcement been mired with controversy from the line-up of artists billed to perform at the event. This week, rumours of the show’s cancellation emerged, compelling organisers of the show to address concerns of the public.

Gao Mokone, the founder and organizer of the annual festival to be held at Mmabana sports ground said this week the rumours of the show being cancelled were not true as the show will go ahead as planned, with various pre-parties taking place ahead of the main event on Friday.

“The festival will go ahead as planned. There were no intentions to have the show cancelled in the first place,” Mokone told the paper. He conceded that he was aware of the rumours making rounds the regarding the cancellation of the show, stating that they emanated from people who’re uninformed about the show.

The only hiccup that was encountered, according to Mokone, is the limitation of space due to the current construction of a swimming pool at the venue.

Admittedly, he said the construction of the swimming pool was an inconvenience as it means things have to be planned around the pool. “As organizers we had to plan around the construction and try to find a way of making it work, and we’ve done that though it means the capacity is now reduced,” said Mokone.

A meeting between the organizers and other stakeholders/sponsors including SAPS was held last week to asses if the show would go ahead with the construction underway and to ensure revellers are not be exposed to any harm.

“It was important to reach consensus and come up with a compromise to ensure that we give people the awesome show we’ve promised them,” said Mokone.

Mokone also clarified the mix-up surrounding the line up, saying all the artists that are on the line-up have been confirmed and will perform at the show. “Our line-up is solid. All the artists that appear on the flyer will perform at the show,” he said.

One of the artists, Nonqaba Nozuko Rwaxa aka Ms Cosmo confirmed that she will be performing at the event as scheduled. “The booking was done months ago with the organizers and therefore I will be at the show on the day,” Ms Cosmo told The Weekly this week.

The legendary DJ Christos also confirmed his booking, stating that everything was in place for the show. “I’m not only aware of the show, I’ll be playing at the show,” said Christos.
Pre-parties leading to the show will commerce at Cubana today.