22 minutes ago
Kwesta (Photo: Gallo Images)
Johannesburg – Fans showed up in their numbers to the Class of 2018 event held in Kimberley on Saturday to watch some of their favourite artists perform, only to be disappointed when no one hit the stage.
Videos and pictures quickly spread on social media, showing angry fans damaging property at the event which promised that the likes of Kwesta and Mobi Dixon would perform.
In the clip below, people can be seen tearing down a marquee.
Pictures shared by local artist Mobi Dixon also shows other property destroyed on the day.
Explaining to fans what had happened, Mobi wrote on Twitter: “This was in Kimberley last night, promoters advertised an event and all artists including myself weren’t paid their balance.”
He added: “No flights or accommodation was booked.”
Speaking to The Juice, Graham Abrahams, Director of MIDSA (the event organisers), confirmed that artists did not perform at the event due to payment issues.
According to Graham, an investor had given them a budget of R900 000 for the event. Issues had started when the concert could not go ahead as planned at the initial venue, after months of planning and gathering the required documents.
“We had cancelled the event on Tuesday,” Graham said. But that later changed when an agent they were working with urged them not to cancel, promising a new venue with all required paperwork would be available by the 23rd. “Our mistake was getting an agent to do what we’ve been doing for the past three months.”
Graham confirmed that artists had been paid a deposit, but could not receive the rest of their money if they (organisers) could not provide the investor with safety certificates needed for the show to proceed. “We tried to get safety certificates so we could pay the artists,” he said, adding: “They were right that they didn’t get full payment.”
Speaking about the damages that they incurred on the night, Graham said: “We lost around R1.3 or R4 million.” He mentions that the amount given is an estimate based on damages as well tickets that would have to be refunded.