Celebrating Music Festival in a time of blue economy

Celebrating Music Festival in a time of blue economy:Sauti za Busara festival, a series of musical performances by a variety of artists, which generally take place over a number of days. Annually in the same location. Occasionally, a festival will focus on a particular genre(e.g. Folk, heavy metal, world music), but the festival brings together a diverse lineup to showcase a broad array of popular African music trends.

Sauti za Busara [Sounds of Wisdom] is a pan-African music festival centered in Stone Town, Zanzibar each year during February, attracting thousands of music-lovers from near and far. 

African music, the musical sounds and practices of all indigeneous peoples of Africa, including Maallem Abdelkebir Merchane in the Sahara(MMorocco)  Msaki and Nomfusi in South Africa. Sjava (South Africa), Dendri Stambeli Movement (Tunisia), Nadi Ikhwan Safaa (Zanzibar), Fanie Fayar (Congo-Brazzaville), Sylent Nqo (Zimbabwe), Suzan Kerunen (Uganda), Aleksand Saya (Reunion), Jordan Adetunji (Northern Ireland), Evans ’Pfumela’ Mapfumo (Zimbabwe), Upendo Manase (Tanzania) and Zan Ubuntu (Zanzibar) and more.Siti & the Band, the Zanzibari fusion group, The Stars of Zanzibar that is currently finding growing international success, and Wamwiduka Band, from Mbeya is a city in southwest Tanzania, which has been touted as one the most promising bands from the East African archipelago.Emerging musicians - Zanzibar, Tanzania, East African and beyond African countries will be live performing for emerging young musicians. These are both young musicians as well as new talent, Sauti za Busara gives opportunity for emerging talented musicians and we would use this opportunity to share best practice and see how these countries can co-produce youth content. 

Festival with blue economyAs holiday destinations go, Zanzibar is a favorite for many looking to escape to an island paradise. The chain of islands, which form part of Tanzania, is the birthplace of Late Legends Bikidude and Makame Faki , lead vocalist in the Islands of Zanzibar . The Indian Ocean archipelago boasts a fascinating heritage spanning Swahili, Portuguese, Arab, Indian and British influence, and picturesque white sand beaches. This unique tourist offering has proven lucrative for Zanzibar as it employs some 50,000 people directly and contributes almost $900-million to GDP each year.

 The Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on Zanzibar in 2020, cutting international tourist arrivals by 52% compared with the previous year. Tourist numbers dropped from 61,752 in February to 197 in May. The industry — and the broader economy — was on the brink of a devastating collapse save for a timely intervention by the state to secure an influx of Russian and Eastern European tourists.   

writed by:

Ahmed Harith,

ZANZIBAR