Whether for 50 or 5,000, event hosting can often be complicated. Something minor can go wrong, which cascades into catastrophe and often it’s seemingly small things that get overlooked and result in disaster. No matter the size of the occasion, event organisers have a lot to balance. Mastering this balance is what separates the great occasions from the forgettable ones.
In 2025 Zimbabwe’s event scene reached fever pitch. It was almost something every weekend, with concerts getting bigger and even the niche get togethers swelling within their speciality. So much went well, and there was so also so much that went wrong. Here we dive into the lessons to take from last year’s events scene:
Ticketing:
The Zimbabwean event space has firmly embraced digital ticketing, which has brought about untold convenience to the public but it also has its downsides. A particular example was King Kandoro’s State Of The Nation tour stop at Celebration Centre in Harare. The King had sold 1,200 tickets online in just 2 hours when he had announced the tour and by the end the number was 3,000.
This was a true showcase of what digital platforms can do for event sales but however when the day came, the scanning of tickets didn’t go as smoothly as planned. People waited over 2 hours to gain access to the event and this presented some needed alterations to the process.
This could be as simple as Hype Nation, Kandoro’s ticket sales partner for the event, having additional personnel at the gate to improve the speed of the process or asking event attendants to screenshot their tickets so that patrons are not trying to download their emails at the door (we all know how Econet can be, let alone the others).
On the other side of the ticketing issue is events that won’t go digital. Jacaranda Music Festival, Carpe Diem, and everyone else who still only sells physical tickets, please move with the times. Allow people to buy tickets with convenience, we need it.
Location:
Location, location, location. Where you host an event is as important as the event itself. You would be surprised at how many people will avoid an event because of its location. Garden Of House and Dzoka Festival learnt this the hard way last year.
While no fault of their own, it is important that as organisers you need to ensure you understand a locations regulations and you should have ironclad agreements in place before event announcement. A sudden shift in location is both inconvenient for revellers and a showcase of poor organisations, which always reduces turnout.
Time Management:
This is pretty simple, if you’re going to put out an event time table, then please stick to it. Why do events post that the headline performer will be on at 11 pm but they only hit the stage after 1 am? 263 Culture Fest, Dzoka Festival, I Love Mbare Festival… this one is especially directed at you. Outside of events dedicated to the nightlife and real ravers, concerts should be done by midnight at the latest, festivals especially. We need you guys to do better in 2026.
Album Launches:
We get it, album launches are deeply personal events that are often more than just music. It’s a victory lap, an appeasement of the ego but then that doesn’t mean you should disrespect the audience.
Holy Ten, Tocky Vibes, Saintfloew and others who’ve been forgotten, what was that last year? How can you take fans, who are not only willing to show up but pay for an experience, for granted? I think it’s time artists hired professional event managers to run their launches, there’s something simply not working when artists run their own launches.
Yet even this feels like an excuse for inconsiderate behaviour. Artists need to just be professional. For example look at Freeman HKD. For the past 2 years he’s managed to successfully run the HKD Festival, which doubles as an album, without any hiccups. We need more figures in the music space to learn from him.
Artist No Shows:
Once upon a time, the Scorpion Kings, Kabza De Small & DJ Maphorisa, missed a performance at the Vic Falls Carnival. They were plastered across newspapers and designated persona non grata until they made amends. Which was finally done through Mashwede Holdings almost 2 years later and since then they haven’t missed an event. Now I’m not advocating for this everytime but event organisers have to come together and somehow take a stand.
The Fiesta Fiesta Festival had a no show from Young Stunna in August, then a no show from Uncool MC in December and this is simply unacceptable conduct from artists. Event organisers as a whole should come together and agree that if you miss a show without good reason, then no one is booking you until you make amends. This should even be extended to local acts, because at last year’s Big Show event, Freeman HKD, Nutty O and SaintFloew were present for sound checks but then failed to show up for the actual performances.
Now with that said, events should not try and hoodwink music fans. If an artist misses their flight in the morning then you definitely know they won’t be there to perform that night. Be honest, we don’t want scenes like those we saw at Fiesta Fiesta’s August edition.
Sound Engineering:
By now, I’m sure we’ve all seen Silent Killer lament at technical difficulties and incompetence at times from the sound engineer. This is because sound is paramount to the concert, festival or event experience and organisers should never put half effort when it comes to this. You can get everything else wrong but not this. Dzoka Festival, not to mention you again but you were the biggest culprit. Sound is everything to an event, let’s do everything to get it right.
Stage Management:
Now they are amazing performances, good performances, those that are lacklustre, poor performances and those that are outright bad. Then there’s whatever Tererai did at Shoko Festival. There is a lot to say on the issue but the short of it is that stage management shouldn’t let anyone heavily intoxicated onto the stage.
Communication:
Ultimately when things go wrong, as event organisers everything ends with you. Communicate. This is not a relationship where over communication will be seen as a red flag. Be the first to tell us about developments and never let artists apologize first if anything goes wrong. The event is yours, speak to the people.
Here’s to hoping 2026 is another great year for events.
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