Sauti rocked, but next year still uncertain

Kyekyku from Ghana performs at Sauti za Busara, which means the sound of wisdom. Photo: Abigail Snyder

It’s no question that this year’s Sauti za Busara music festival rocked — as always — but the fate of future festivals is still uncertain.

This year, approximately 25,000 visitors came from as far as Iceland to hear 400 artists from across the continent rock Stone Town in just 4 days.

In 2016, the festival was cancelled due to a lack of funding and project manager Journey Ramadhani says the future is still uncertain.

“We are pretty much starting from zero again. Wee have a few sponsors at the moment and so if more will come and support the 2018 festival, [it] will be great,” says Ramadhani, speaking to the BBC.

“But I really can’t say that the festival will never be cancelled again because even now, we don’t have any firm financial pledge.”

Since it started in 2004, Sauti za Busara is said to have generated more than $70 million USD (156 million TSH) in revenue for Zanzibar.

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About the Author

Daniel Hayduk
Daniel is Dar Post's news director. When not in the newsroom, he spends his days helping NGOs across the continent find their creative side.