By OBAKENG MAJE
The much-anticipated DJ Nation Annual Bash event returns with a bang after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The DJ Nation Annual Bash organiser, Monnapula “Dj Nation” Mokgwabone, who had an interview with a 24-hour news channel, Newzroom Afrika said, he has roped in some of the A-list artists on the line-up.
Mokgwabone said, this year’s DJ Nation Annual Bash event’s edition which will take place at Taung Cover-ground on 28 December, will be bigger than it was in past years. He also encourages patrons to purchase their tickets to avoid disappointment.
“We started this event back in 2007 with only 200 people in a small village. But as things stand now, the event has grown in leaps and bounds. We had over 18 000 revellers in our last event back in 2019 and that alone shows that this event is loved by many.
“We have applied various types of marketing including word of mouth. Some of the people in the village, apart from those who stay in the cities, only see these big-name artists on tv or social media. So, I think it is a good thing for them to see these household artists live,” he said.
Mokgwabone further said some of the A-list artists who are on the line-up are Cassper Nyovest, Makhadzi, Master KG and the list is endless. He added that, on previous occasions, the event was graced by international artists as far as Japan, USA and UK.
“There are quite a lot of challenges and some companies have shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. So, obviously, it is difficult to have to deal with new service providers as most of them charge hefty amounts because they complain that Taung is too far.
“However, in terms of marketing, we have used various methods to remind our people that, indeed the DJ Nation Annual Bash event is back. There are also some of logistics that we had to deal with including ticket pricing,” said Mokgwabone.
According to Mokgwabone, he considered the high rate of unemployment when doing ticket pricing. Mokgwabone said, one thing that he did, was to ensure that tickets are affordable.
“We should not find ourselves in a situation, where tickets are too expensive and people could not afford them back home. Our country is struggling economically and where we come from, is not like here in Gauteng, where you’ll find either City of Tshwane or Johannesburg support events.
“The event brings a huge spin-off to the district and the province at large. We also have people from neighbouring countries like Botswana and Namibia attending the event. So, the minute they enter into the province, they either spend on fuel, food, or accommodation,” said Mokgwabone.
He said, mostly, Small Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) and informal traders benefit from the event either indirectly or directly including those who are looking for love.
Mokgwabone said many people are keen to have the DJ Nation Annual Bash event in their areas, especially in the cities, but he never thought about it because Taung is the home of the Dj Nation Annual Bash event.
“What I have done previously, was to have activations across the country like Cape Town, Bloemfontein and Kuruman. However, this year, there were some challenges in planning and other things. However, next year, we will start planning early with my team to ensure that we have activations across the country again.
“Many people across the country are keen to host us. It is too costly to organise an event of this magnitude and it is ideal to have sponsors around. Fortunately, I have been saving over the years and we are quite covered from all angles,” he said.
Mokgwabone said, all systems go for the event as he had a consultative meeting with various stakeholders and in terms of security, everything is running accordingly.
TaungDailyNews 