The much awaited Africa Night Cruise that featured the Black sensation party and the Africa Talent Show is now history. The unique cruise was a conglomeration of activities which will, no doubt, be discussed in Africa-Stockholm for a long time to come. According to initial estimates, over 700 fun lovers joined the cruise and although this might seem like a huge number of African oriented revelers congregated in a boat across the Baltic Sea, it was low compared to attendance during the Miss Africa Crown Scandinavia 2010 that was held in October last year and that attracted over 1200 people. Just like there were a lot of positive aspects of the cruise, some negatives were also registered. May be, it would be better to begin by reporting on the negatives which tended to undermine the otherwise well organized cruise.
The unexpected level of attendance (700 compared to the projected 2000 people) created an instant organizational crisis because halls had to be changed at the eleventh hour thereby disrupting programs in ways that had not been predicted. The Africa Got Talent was supposed to take place in “Club Moonlight” which has a capacity of 500 people. However, by boarding time, approximately 200 had booked and the short fall meant that AGT had to be switched from Club Moonlight to the smaller Discotheque located at the 10th deck. The Black Sensation, boogie was supposed to take place at “Club Starlight” which has a capacity of 1000 people. By boarding time, the booking stood at approximately 400 and this short-fall forced the Siljaline management to switch the event to the smaller Club Moonlight where AGT was supposed to take place. The rest of the passengers were regular cruisers who were just going about their business in the boat.
The shift of AGT to the disco floor was devastating because the discotheque does not have a platform where the artists were expected to stage their shows. Secondly, the stage is not designed or equipped for live shows. A major problem was that Urkraft, the Stockholm giants in Traditional African music who were scheduled to perform at AGT, could not do their act at the disco floor because of serious lay-out problems. In the end, Urkraft’s performance had to be switched to Club Moonlight.
Attempts to get AGT artists to perform at Club Moonlight aborted because the Black Sensation Program was so tight that the only time the AGT artists could perform was before 23.00 hrs, time when there was no audience because revelers were either taking supper, shopping at the Tax Free boutiques or drinking in their cabins after picking their fills at the boat’s liquor store. The switch of AGT artists to Moonlight was cancelled because performing to an empty hall was not possible. In the end, the AGT artists performed at the discotheque with a reasonable crowd where Sound of Blackness was blasting the music. Apart from the confusion that resulted out of a disruption of the Program after the venues were changed, the Africa Night Cruise was a huge success in many ways. Several lessons were learnt by the Ritz Society, the Entertainment wing of the Africa Monetary Fund that organized the event.
Positive
What was amazing was the huge support of the event by Africans and Swedish lovers of Africa. All artists who joined the cruise performed, both at the Black Sensation and AGT. The talent show at AGT was amazing and the main spirit of the event shifted periodically from the performances to discussions about the fact that AGT was actually taking place in the boat for the first time. There are discussions one rarely comes across during African parties in Stockholm but that dominated the talks at the boat. The general thinking was that Africans needed more coordination to address issues that are of common interest to the community in Sweden. Members of the Ritz Society were constantly congratulated by guests who appreciated the huge amount of work that had been done to realize the event.
A better chunk of the African continent was represented during the cruise and this was clear especially with guests who had paraphernalia that pointed to their countries of origin. For example, head scuffs, badges, T-shirts and arm bands bearing national flag colours were the most conspicuous signs that pointed to nationalism by some guests.
The Ritz Society seem to be a formation whose popularity is on the rise on the basis of its organizational structure and its ability to pull huge events that have never been done before in the African arena especially in conservative Sweden. Many Africans are used to parties thrown at local venues but not all night boogies hosted at Siljaline across the Baltic. This is what has made Ritz events unique in the eyes of many contacts who spoke to KSB.
After the successful Miss Africa Crown Scandinavia 2010 that was held at the boat, the hosting of AGT and Black Sensation at the same venue has increased the credibility of Ritz Society in the eyes of many observers. The organization’s leaders need to build on this positive development. Many revelers who expressed their views like Mr. Joseph Mbaziira of Ugamuziki hoped that the event will be annual and that it will continue to attract a huge crowd in the future.
Almost all artists who spoke to KSB were of the view that the AGT was a good and necessary initiative although others were mainly concerned about follow-ups. Ritz is planning a meeting with the artists to establish the way forward after the cruise. “There is need for closer coordination between the organizers and the artists to look into ways of making improvements in the future and working with the artists”, Jack Joel, a member of Africa Unitez told KSB during a chit chat. Many of the artists I spoke to like Silver Straw is very serious. Silver believes that apart from his profile as an artist, he has a clear message to deliver to his audience through music. “I joined this event because it was a good opportunity”, he told KSB.
Another popular view was the need for Africans in Sweden to Network in various fields. Obviously, artists who performed at the boat have a common interest but majority of them were meeting for the first time. There were people who are interested in organizing events and for the first time, they were coming into contact with artists they could approach to perform at their events. Other entertainment groups were meeting Dancehall artists they could engage.
Before the cruise, not many Africans knew about the powerful dance group called Unbreakable which staged a superb show that kept the audience screaming for more as the troupe maneuvered impossible moves in the air. Unbreakable is the kind of group you could engage if you have an event (like a wedding, a birthday or any celebration) and you want to surprise your audience with something new. Members of the group appear to be interested in nothing but dance and they are very good.
The most mixed crowd was that of Black Sensation where Dancehall was in progress. This floor was the favorite for the white audience which mingled with the African crowd to have fun. In fact, it was almost clear that majority of Africans had opted to shake flesh at the sound of Blackness’ Banjuka-oriented “Bongo Flavad” boogie although revelers continued to alternate between Dancehall and Banjuka.
Lessons
One issue that may have been overlooked by the organizers was the disadvantage of staging two different events at the same boat. The consequence was that unlike Miss Africa which was staged in one hall, the crowd tended to be split as they shuttled between the two halls to check on what was happening. Next time, it would be good to limit the event to one genre of music because the one event strategy tends to consolidate the crowd at one place.
Lesson number two is that it is unnecessary to have too many artists in the boat because this tended to clog the Program. Some artists in the Black Sensation who were supposed to start playing earlier could not do so because there was no crowd and by the time the crowd showed, time had elapsed and the Program was already running behind schedule. Another lesson was that it is better for programs to start at midnight instead of 22 hrs. This is because by 22 hrs, revelers have not yet climbed up to the activity halls because of supper, shopping and other activities. It is interesting that this lesson was never learnt by the organizers during the Miss Africa event where serious activity began only after 23 hrs.
The event was organized on the 15th day of the month, time when many people are broke. A cruise across the Baltic is not just about buying a ticket because there are other “automatic expenses” to be incurred on board. First, food is very expensive while shopping is usually regarded as “part of the trip”. May be, it would be a good idea to place the event towards the end of the month when revelers have money although this view is not absolutely accurate because Miss Africa was organized on the 8th day of the month but people still turned up in large numbers.
The ground theory was that with many artists on the line, a huge crowd of 2000 could be pulled to enjoy the event but this did not happen. In an ordinary African Party taking place at a venue in town, a crowd of 100 people would be regarded as a big success while a crowd of 200 people boarders on the spectacular. For the Africa Night Cruise to have attracted 700 people ought to be regarded as extremely good and Ritz should be happy with the turn out given that the event was taking place for the first time. However, there has to be an explanation as to why the attendance was almost half the number of people who attended the Miss Africa Crown last October. This is a question which will require some analysis in the future.
On the whole, we can report that the Cruise was a success despite the hitches that have been highlighted. It is an attempt that needs to be taken up (even with a greater collaboration with African groups). Although the event was unique in the sense that it was taking place for the first time, such events take place at Siljaline all the time. Just to mention but a few, the Salsa crew led by Latin Americans, the Rock Crew and cruises based on Love themes are common in the boat.
What has been missing in the schedule has been the African touch. The greatest achievement of the Cruise is that an African theme has been added in the list of events at Siljaline and the question now is whether the foundation blocks that have been laid will serve as the basis of wider mobilization in the future. Much will depend on whether the organizers have the will power to continue with the event and whether the attitude of the target audience will continue to be positive. The photos are being processed and will be up soon.
Okoth Osewe
About the Author
