Tribe-One festival must go on: Tshwane mayor

23 September 2014 - 17:16 By Sapa
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TribeOne logo. File Photo
TribeOne logo. File Photo
Image: Supplied

The Dinokeng Tribe-One Festival that was supposed to be held in Cullinan must go on, but later this year, Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa said on Tuesday.

"This is the home of the Tribe-One, it could be happening later this year," he said after a tour of the site.

"It is going to happen. From there it is going to be annually. The concert will continue."

Ramokgopa was briefing the media on the concert, hosted by the city, after it organisers cancelled it. They said the city had not provided the necessary infrastructure.

Ramokgopa said he asked reporters to come to the site so they could see the infrastructure for themselves. It was supposed to be a "virgin venue" with no surfaced roads, but with lighting and chemical toilets, Ramokgopa explained.

The concert would have been held from September 26 to 28, with events company Rockstar4000 and Sony Music Entertainment, he said.

"The city was surprised when we received a letter of cancellation from the organisers," said Ramokgopa.

He said R65 million was spent on the event -- R40m for infrastructure and R25m for marketing, promotions, and securing artists. The city wanted to recoup the R25m if the concert did not go ahead.

International artists like Nicki Minaj, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, and J Cole were set to perform.

South African artists including like MiCasa, Kuli Chana, Mafikizolo, Karen Zoid and HouseHold Funk were on the bill, along with artists from the rest of Africa.

The dispute over the cancellation was expected to go to arbitration.

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