Since the 2008 edition of the Telkom Charity Cup soccer tournament, Mmabatho Stadium has not hosted a crowd of such magnitude until last weekend when the gigantic stadium hosted the famous “Fill Up Mmabatho Stadium” organised by Hip Hop artist, Cassper Nyovest. According to this Mahikeng-born musician, his childhood dream became a reality after fi¬lling-up his hometown stadium almost to the rafters last weekend. In a statement released by the MEC for SACR, Keneetswe Mosenogi said: “We support events like the “Fill Up” because they are also economic drivers.
They inject millions into the economy, through bookings for accommodation, the transport sector, as well as vendors who sell food through their stalls. It means a lot for local business.
As done before with other events like Mahika Mahikeng, a broader socio-economic impact study will be commissioned to assess the impact of the festival on Mahikeng. What is already known to us is that accommodation in Mahikeng was sold out and revellers had to book for accommodation in neighbouring towns, Lichtenburg and Zeerust. We further like to send our profound words of thankfulness to our important partners and stakeholders with whom we held hands together to make it possible for the event to happen.
The support of our neighbours from Botswana is also recognised and a special reception was given to them with dedicated parking and ticketing area,” read the statement.
Some revellers from the concert voiced out their dissatisfaction against the organisers' modus operandi when coming to logistical preparations. One patron stated that they had to finish up their drinks in the car as the public was not allowed to bring their own beverages inside the venue. "Generally the concert was nice and the crowd was at their best behaviour but I was disappointed that we were forced to drink beverages of brands we did not prefer”, he stated.
In a media statement released last Monday, Nyovest paid homage to his supporters and stated: "The show had its challenges and we are so grateful to the supporters and various government departments for their unwavering support as well as our law enforcement officials for guaranteeing the safety of all attendees.
We are committed to bringing a much better show to the people of the North West next year (2023) and we will ensure that the experience is without glitches. Next year we come back stronger and more resourced," stated the musician.
One twitter account user, "Smooth Operator" tweeted: "Imagine people wearing your T-shirt, dancing with your shoe brand to the rhythm of your music at your own festival, getting drunk to your alcohol, damn, that's iconic man, Cassper's a legend" he tweeted.
The muso stated on his social media platform that repairs at the stadium, preparations and lighting amounted to an estimated sum of R16 million. “It’s the beginning of a great relationship between me and the province, me and the town. I’ve been talking about coming home and I think we have set up a great platform and foundation to build on. We got ideas and as long as we get the support that we’ve been getting, I think that we can do great things and just revive the town as a whole,” said Nyovest.
By Lebogang Moeng and Gofaone Mogorosi
