The DStv Delicious Festival returned in the post-pandemic era with a promise it almost failed to keep.
Here’s what went wrong at the DStv Delicious Festival
The two-day weekend event took place at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Sandton, Johannesburg. Saturday’s affair was the biggest of the weekend.
Burna Boy was primarily responsible for the 100 000-plus crowds that flocked to the venue on the first day of the festival. The last time South Africans caught a glimpse of the African Giant was in 2019.
In the end, the Nigerian crooner saved event organisers from what was a bonafide s*** show, to say the very least.
Here’s a list of everything that went wrong at the DStv Delicious Festival:
Parking
The festival took place at a 100 000-capacity venue. Whether organisers had anticipated that more than 100 000 attendees would flock to the venue to watch Burna Boy live remains unknown.
However, one of the first red flags was parking.
Getting to Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit was a nightmare, to begin with. Attendees travelling by car had to find alternative areas to park since the allocated lot was swamped as early as noon.
The entrance
The DStv Delicious Festival was not only understaffed on Saturday, but event organisers did a horrible job at training workers on crowd control. If that was not bad enough, at some point, ticket scanners malfunctioned on numerous occasions.
VIP ticket holders were forced to wait in long queues for hours due to the ticket scanning issue.
Moreover, attendees took to social media to report that chance-takers saw this as an opportune moment to enter the festival without paying.
Lack of security
The poor crowd management at the event’s entrance made it easy for unscrupulous characters to worm their way into the venue. This Twitter user was one of many attendees who fell victim to pick-pocketing.
While, for the most part, things were cordial at the DStv Delicious Festival, the lack of security was exposed when this brawl broke out. Two security officials donning highlighter vests stood on the sidelines and watched as a man was attacked by a mob.
The festival’s e-cash system
VIP ticket holders who paid R5 850 for an area that, in all honesty, was poorly positioned not only had the worst view of Burna Boy’s performance, but according to this chap, the e-cash system used for their complimentary food and drinks was a shambles.
The event’s organisers have yet to surface with a statement addressing the complaints of attendees who went to the Saturday event. All things considered, Burna Boy made a remarkable return to South Africa, and singlehandedly saved the night.
