DStv Delicious Festival: We saw Burna Boy, but at what cost?

What was supposed to be a coming together to celebrate the best in international food and music talent turned sour on the first day of the long-awaited return of the DStv Delicious Festival. 

Thousands flocked to Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Johannesburg on Saturday to mostly see Nigerian artist Burna Boy. 

DStv Delicious Festival organisers alerted festival goers early on of fake ticket entries which were causing them delays, not only inside the venue but outside with the massive traffic jam outside. 

DStv Delicious Festival’s under planning and poor logistics

The Citizen attended the festival on Saturday, and the poor planning of the event was evident. Firstly, it took us two hours just to get into the Kyalami Grand Prix premises and there were further delays at the parking lot.

Designated parking areas were full to capacity leaving us and many others to find further spots to park. 

When we eventually got in, security barely looked at our tags on entry, leaving us surprised at how easy it was to get in.

Already aware of the influx if tweets from attendees complaining, we thought we were prepared for the “mess” or “disaster” that would greet us. 

And it was a mess.

There was a sea of people at every corner and long queues for food, drinks and any type of amenity at every stall. Some of those who arrived earlier at 12pm said they were already queuing for food and beverages for about two hours during the day. 

So no matter what time you arrived, you were going to wait. When we eventually got our bearings around the venue we chose a food truck, Filthy Moustache, that seemed to have the most orders but still managed to deliver quick service.

READ MORE: DStv Delicious Festival rocked by fake ticket problems

We were in the queue for about 40 minutes. The wait for our gourmet hot dogs was worth it, and the food was delicious. 

However, on the drinks side, we had to settle for bubble tea because the queues at alcohol stalls and marquees were too long to even bother for a cider or cocktail. 

Burna Boy

As the main event drew closer to Burna Boy’s performance, we headed towards to the main stage. It was at this moment that the organisers realised how a massive crowd puller he was.

Every angle of the main stage was packed.

The number of attendees to see Burna has been estimated to be between 50,000 to 100,000.

No official number has been released as yet.

Serving us a set that lasted over an hour, Burna Boy’s performance was world-class. The sound, production, visuals and his stage presence had us gripped. 

Considering that our experience also had many mishaps, Burna Boy did save this festival. A couple of people did have better experiences however there is a lot of work for organisers to do going forward.

Multichoice did apologise for the inconvenience caused and did attempt to communicate on social media about the issues they were having on the day.