The 2010 Africa Night Cruise was, so far, the biggest success story of the Ritz Society/AMF. With over 1,000 on board and a heavily loaded Program that kept expectant revelers on toes throughout the Cruise, the Ritz Society leadership has clearly demonstrated its organizational capacity and ability to mobilize members of the African community in Scandinavia on a mass scale. The successful delivery of the Cruise was the product of a well-coordinated teamwork with key players who were determined to ensure that the Cruise succeeded.
Apart from the massive work that went into materializing the Cruise, a significant constituency in the matrix of the whole success is the resilient members of the African community in Scandinavia and friends of Africa alike. This kind of event has never been organized before and its very novelty provided a lot of unmitigated and practical challenges to the organizers. Although there remains a lot of analysis to be done, the overriding conclusion is that the event was as epoch-making as it was spectacular.
The Africa Night Cruise was intentionally interweaved with the 2010 “Miss Africa Crown Scandinavia”, an equally new project that also presented formidable logistical challenges which were all overcome to enable the inaugural “Miss Africa Scandinavia” in the name of Michelle Jeng to be crowned amid high emotion which triggered a free flow of “tears of joy” especially among the winners.
What can be deduced from this gigantic success story is that Africans are capable of organizing themselves. Everybody who paid to be part of the Crew must have been convinced that the initiative was worth the expense. Although there was no paradigm to help factor in the probability of success under the circumstances, the enormous response from supporters who were on board shattered the myth that Africans in Scandinavia are a basket case when it comes to organized social activity. In fact, a key lesson which can be learnt here is that protagonists who have notoriously accused Africans in Scandinavia of being lackadaisical when it comes to organized social activity have been pontificating from false grounds.
In almost every department during the Cruise, African professionals had been brought in to help and the “automatic clock-work” which drove activity on the floor is evidence that there is a huge untapped potential within the community which, if properly coordinated, could yield surprising results in many fields.
The Cruise could not have been as successful as it was without the participation of Christine Chambay and Joseph Mbaziira, the two brilliant MCs who drove the Program under very difficult circumstances. They kept the audience busy “round the clock” and one could detect that they had a grip of what they were doing.
In any social event of this nature, music is key to delivering the desired pleasure. To ensure that nothing was left to chance, Sound of Blackness, the most popular Disco group in Scandinavia, was charged with ensuring that the hundreds of revelers were given a run for their money. The professionalism with which Sound of Blackness conducted their business still remain unmatched.
They understood the crowd they were dealing with and the biggest problem was that by 5.00 am, the floor was still packed to capacity. Siljaline authorities had to send reminders that at some point, the Disco must come to an end because from their evaluation of the situation on the dance floor, it looked like the dance would continue endlessly. The decision to engage Sound of Blackness was not accidental. The group has itself organized several successful boogie nights in Stockholm that are well known to traditional African Party addicts in Stockholm.
One group that made a very big difference is Ur-Kraft which specializes in traditional African dance. If you were in the Cruise and you never enjoyed their show, then you will never appreciate African traditional dance. Ur-Kraft is actually a school of African traditional dance and their performance should convince anybody seeking to learn their kind of dance that they are the right people to get in touch with or recommend.
Still on the music, Bobi Wine, Desire Luzinda, Vumbi Dekula, Henry Tigan, Billy Boy and other artists were all on stage. Vumbi was unique in the sense that his live band was an instant attraction which quickly resulted in a packed dance floor. It is very unfortunate that Bobi Wine and his Ugandan group introduced new complications after getting on board. They violated the contract with impunity, disregarded the Program, threw abuses at DJs and introduced new conditions that delayed the Program unnecessarily.
I will spare problems with Bobi Wine for another article but generally, his group proved so problematic that at one point, they were almost cut off the Program. It would be difficult for Ritz Society to recommend Bobi Wine to any promoter because they acted unprofessionally although much of the crisis with his group was kept well under control by management.
Annual Events
This report would be incomplete without mentioning Billy-Boy and G-Ruffs based in Stockholm, a group which thrilled the crowd which had been waiting for hours to watch them on stage. Although they performed just three songs, the crowd was satisfied that it was time well spent. G-Ruffs is a down to earth group which, unlike other Artists, tend to distance themselves from the showy bling-bling profile, preferring instead a simple approach to fame that does not attract a lot of attention. It will be interesting to watch the group back on stage next time.
As mentioned earlier, the 2010 Miss Africa Scandinavia was one of the biggest attractions. Professional Judges had been booked to ensure that the event was of high International standards. Here, Shaul Moalem, Lilian Mbova, Nubian Choco, Juliet Lubira-Bagenda and S. Jadama need sincere congratulations for a work well done. These judges worked overtime to ensure that there would be no mistakes. In the end, the audience appeared satisfied with their choices as celebrations also began.
Most importantly, it has to be mentioned that the Miss Africa contestants never disappointed. The girls have been working very hard in the run up to the Cruise and their dedication to their pursuits was obvious to people who have been working with them. The 26 girls who contested are very committed to realizing their dreams and from the experience at the Cruise, they all have great potential.
Three of the twenty six contestants had to be crowned but as others have said, every one of the contestants has to be counted as a winner. There is yet another opening next year so not all is lost. Much gratitude needs to be sent to brother Philip who worked tirelessly with the girls especially during practice and at the boat together with brother Mbaziira for expert advice and other practical help during process. Similar gratitude goes to others who chipped in in their own way to help make the show a success.
Naturally, the event was likely to attract some sponsors who saw the opportunity of exposing their business enterprises to the huge African crowd that was in attendance. Ethiopian Airlines, Me Magazine, Make Up Institute and Mist Stockholm, KSB and Crown Airlines all need to take credit because they are all part of the success story.
Another group worth mentioning is the African Diplomatic community which sent representatives to the Cruise. With the support of more Embassies of such events, Africa can grow stronger. We are far away from home and anything that brings the community together deserves support. For African Ambassador who sent their representatives, the Ritz Society has sent accolades hoping for mutual collaboration in other areas of interest.
Both Africa Night Cruise and Miss Africa Crown Scandinavia are now Annual events and those who missed this year’s beat have the opportunity to wait until next year when they can join the crew and sample the menu on board. It was a fantastic moment and people were happy.
The support from the African community was enormous. The high sense of discipline ensured that there were no ugly incidences that can be reported. The management of the Ritz Society sends a “Thank You” note to everybody who was part of the Cruise. Without your support, the Cruise could not have happened and the Society will be glad to host yet another Cruise next year. The big success of the Cruise underlines the need for more team-work and better Networking within the community. If you missed it this time, you have another opportunity next year!
Okoth Osewe
About the Author
Thank you Sir i missed it this year hope i make it next year.. thank you again for the article
KSB: Welcome and see you next year…