BY PRECIOUS CHIDA
LOCAL reggae-dancehall fans who were expecting a second bite of the cherry with another Beenie Man show scheduled for the just-ended Harare International Carnival concert on Saturday were left disappointed as the musician was in no-show.
Carnival organisers, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) had announced a few days before the carnival that they had roped in the Jamaican music star to perform at the event after his earlier performance at the Spring Festival.
ZTA spokesperson Sugar Chagonda, however, said the situation was beyond their control as Beenie Man had to go back to Jamaica to get a new passport.
“Beenie man had a show in South Africa, so he had to go there before coming back to Zimbabwe for the carnival fiesta. However, his passport was only left with two pages hence he had to go back to Jamaica to apply for a new passport,” he said. Chagonda said the last day he could have arrived was Sunday, which would have been too late.
He also said Cuban Samba dancers, who were expected to participate alongside their Brazilian counterparts, could not arrive in Harare on time.
“The problem we faced was these people were coming in groups which then made it difficult for us to get all their tickets on time hence they had to arrive in Zimbabwe on Saturday which was after their show,” he said.
Running under the theme One Love-Our Unity, Our Pride, the 10-day fiesta ended on Sunday.
