The much anticipated performance by Jamaican reggae star Luciano ended in an anticlimax at City Sports Center in Harare this weekend, as the poorly attended and heavily politicised show offered very little relief to joy-starved Zimbabweans.


Luciano gave a brilliant performance, but before a half empty arena dominated by pickpockets, and revellers who were served warm beer as caterers said they only got contracts to run the bars in the evening. Everything seemed to go wrong with the performance.


"Luciano's political statements won him few fans amongst the neutrals that may have wanted to just go out and have fun," said fan Albert Mthembo.


"The obvious fact is that most reggae fans in the country are youths from the locations who can identify with its messages of social equality, and they could not afford the gate fee hence the poor attendance. The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority who organised it poorly marketed the concert. The show was a flop," Mthembo added.





President Mugabe, Haille Selassie, he repeated, as he tried to appeal to the emotions of the crowd, which didnt seem to appreciate his efforts to praise the dictator, whose legacy ruined the show.

The event was poorly organised, and the venue turned out to be just wrong. Several people were mugged before they even got to the venue as they tried to walk through the dark streets from Kopje to Showground.

An estimated 2000 people attended the show at the 10 000 capacity City Sports Centre which ZTA boss Karikoga Kaseke had chosen in anticipation of a huge crowd. Some revellers returned home when they were told to park outside the Harare Agricultural Show grounds, some distance from the venue and prone to car thieves.