Global Citizen Festival
After being in the same space with some of the world's biggest artists, it took few days to take it all in.
As I write this now, a part of me was still incredulous that I saw Beyonce, Jay Z, Pharrell, Ed Sheeran, Trevor Noah, Sho Modjazi, Cassper Nyovest, Usher, Tyler Perry, Oprah and many more in one day.
It has yet to sink in.
My weekend was all about the Global Citizen festival. A group of us were working as volunteers for the event, as per usual in any event of this magnitude it is filled with stress, anxiety, exhaustion and a big sense of excitement.
With an equally long day yet, it was worthwhile. I will not bombard you much with the nitty gritties to the lead up to the concert. However when we finally made our way into the stadium in the afternoon, I anticipated nothing but a world class experience. I must say our local artists represented South Africa well and stood on par with the international acts.
So I missed half of The Carter's set, but I have somewhat recovered from that. I will get to the unfortunate events that took place after the concert ended later.
More on the real QUEEN-B.
Beyonce undoubtedly has stage presence I have never witnessed from any other artist. It is magnetic it, here voice live does not disappoint. I now understand why people become a part of the Beyhive, after watching her live. You become more appreciative of her as an artist.
From the customs changes, Beyonce and Jay Z gave us a complete of the On The Run Tour II experience.
Talking points on why we treat certain celebs with legendary status surfaces. In some cases, the Beyhive treats their fandom like religion, with Beyonce as their higher power.
The two are not the same, artists and religious leaders can not be treated in the same light. In my experience and understanding, music is an escapism for people, the two are not interchangeable.
As thousands streamed outside FNB Stadium in Soweto, horrific reports surfaced the morning after, regarding their traumatic experiences. Many were were beaten, held at gunpoint, attacked while rushing to Sasol garage close by to wait for their transport, as their valuable goods were stolen right, left and centre.
It was frank reminder of what country we live in, where in one light you could be experiencing one of the best memories of your life, the next you are ambushed with the reality of the high levels of crime.
Accountability is important, stadiums in South Africa have had these incidents numerous times. The only reason this caught global headlines was because of the stars involved and the international fans who were also victims.
Luckily myself and the people I was with were not affected, as the stories already started as we left.
It left a sour taste in mouths in the end, but for whatever reason I will be attending such events.
Hopefully security measures will be much better in future.
It is very disheartening that we have to cross our fingers for the best. But I guess this is South Africa.
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| Metro |
It has yet to sink in.
My weekend was all about the Global Citizen festival. A group of us were working as volunteers for the event, as per usual in any event of this magnitude it is filled with stress, anxiety, exhaustion and a big sense of excitement.
With an equally long day yet, it was worthwhile. I will not bombard you much with the nitty gritties to the lead up to the concert. However when we finally made our way into the stadium in the afternoon, I anticipated nothing but a world class experience. I must say our local artists represented South Africa well and stood on par with the international acts.
So I missed half of The Carter's set, but I have somewhat recovered from that. I will get to the unfortunate events that took place after the concert ended later.
More on the real QUEEN-B.
Beyonce undoubtedly has stage presence I have never witnessed from any other artist. It is magnetic it, here voice live does not disappoint. I now understand why people become a part of the Beyhive, after watching her live. You become more appreciative of her as an artist.
From the customs changes, Beyonce and Jay Z gave us a complete of the On The Run Tour II experience.
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| Mashable |
The two are not the same, artists and religious leaders can not be treated in the same light. In my experience and understanding, music is an escapism for people, the two are not interchangeable.
As thousands streamed outside FNB Stadium in Soweto, horrific reports surfaced the morning after, regarding their traumatic experiences. Many were were beaten, held at gunpoint, attacked while rushing to Sasol garage close by to wait for their transport, as their valuable goods were stolen right, left and centre.
It was frank reminder of what country we live in, where in one light you could be experiencing one of the best memories of your life, the next you are ambushed with the reality of the high levels of crime.
Accountability is important, stadiums in South Africa have had these incidents numerous times. The only reason this caught global headlines was because of the stars involved and the international fans who were also victims.
Luckily myself and the people I was with were not affected, as the stories already started as we left.
It left a sour taste in mouths in the end, but for whatever reason I will be attending such events.
Hopefully security measures will be much better in future.
It is very disheartening that we have to cross our fingers for the best. But I guess this is South Africa.
Comment on some of your favourite moments from the Global Citizen Festival.
The police continues to be involved in social issues than fighting crimes. The stadium management also must take the full blame. It seems we do not learn from the tragedies of the past.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree, sadly what we are seeing is the shift of blame. No one wants to be held accountable.
DeleteWas sad to hear about these attacks after the amazing performances we had and the message around this whole event.
ReplyDeleteCasper killed it.
Indeed he did!!!
ReplyDelete