Burna Boy. Picture: Instagram
African giant Burna Boy will be performing in South Africa in September once again, and while there is excitement, fans have plenty of reservations.
The “Ye” hitmaker is known to attract a large crowd as seen last year when he headlined the DStv Delicious Festival.
The mega-star is set to bring his phenomenal show to FNB Stadium, in Johannesburg, a venue that is no stranger to hosting international events.
In 2018 the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 drew thousands of people to witness global and local artists perform at the Johannesburg stadium.
While the performances were electric, the aftermath of the concert is what many seem to remember.
As fans tried to make their way home from FNB Stadium that year, some experienced the horror of being mugged as they tried to request and wait for e-hailing services.
Airlocked Events Management and Projects, the local representative for Event Organiser and Promoter Ternary Media Group from the USA, who are bringing the Nigerian superstar to perform in a statement, noted the security concerns around the FNB Stadium.
Organisers assured their commitment to ensuring that safety and security of the patrons remains their number one priority.
Organisers explained that they choose the venue “to ensure capacity and control to avoid any form of a rush”.
“Traffic management remains a challenge at capacity events. Stadium Management South Africa (SMSA), together with the Johannesburg Metro Police Department and other stakeholders are working on an event specific traffic plan,” said Airlocked Events Management and Projects.
The event organising company also asked that concert goers follow the SMSA social media platforms for updates on road closures, the traffic management plan, transport and parking options.
As far as security goes, Airlocked added: “As with all events we all learn from any challenge that may have happened in the past and to this end the event organisers have taking lessons from Burna Boy’s success at his capacity sell-out in England earlier this year.
“In turn, SMSA constantly learn and adapt venue logistical event planning, taking in to account lessons learned from capacity events hosted at the FNB Stadium.
“To this end, the event organizer and SMSA are working closely with all stakeholders, the national security cluster services, as well as professionally recognised private security firms in planning a safe and secure event.”