City of Stars Festival generated K430 million
The dust has settled and the numbers are out—City of Stars was the biggest international arts festival Lilongwe has ever seen.
It was also the 10th anniversary of the Lake of Stars Project.
The Lake of Stars team delivered a week of culture in Lilongwe that included eight events hosted in six different locations around the city from September 23 to 28.
The main festival at Sanctuary Lodge attracted over 2100 revellers and featured more than 50 acts from Malawi, Norway, UK, Zambia, South Africa, Kenya, Sweden, Tanzania and Congo, according to the festival’s project director Will Jameson.
“We carried out an audience and business survey during the festival and our associated profile events. The impact has been positive and once again demonstrates how cultural festivals can both generate revenue for Malawi’s economy and boost the country’s global profile.
“City of Stars was a response to the Malawi Government which has talked recently about the need to develop the creative industries and focus on tourism. We wanted to further understand the opportunities and challenges for those working in the creative and travel industries, and see how together we can improve cultural tourism in Malawi,” said Jameson.
The festival featured some of the biggest names in Malawian music and art, alongside some newer faces.
A selection of talented international artists joined the bill, including Norway’s Svermere, UK’s George the Poet, Kenya’s Sauti Sol, Tumi and the Volume from South Africa and the Fly5 collective from Zambia.
The main festival activity took place at the amazing Sanctuary Lodge on September 27 with artists performing across two stages.
As well as live performances, there was a cinema, an art gallery and food vendors catering to all tastes.
Aside that, the festival had a family focus with activities and fun for children of all ages.
Said Jameson: “Alongside the festival, there was also a conference on September 27 which is the UN World Tourism Day, at Sanctuary Lodge. Festival organisers attended from Scotland, Kenya, South Africa and Zanzibar and shared experiences and ideas. Some were also looking for Malawian talent to book for their events and this has already resulted in enquiries for Peter Mawanga and Malawi Mouse Boys.”
“So here we are with the festival impact in figures, 345 Malawian artists took part with 19 different nationalities present. In total, 2 166 people attended the festival and 40 delegates took part in the conference”.
Jameson added that over 100 creative books were donated to the National Library and over 3.3 million people were reached through media coverage. The festival generated media value of over $32539 (K13 million) and $249 440 (K99.8 million) for Malawi.
$175 000 (K70 million) was spent directly by festival attendees, many from outside Malawi and attracted a marketing campaign of $560 000 (K224 million) all totalling slightly over K430 million (US$1 000 000).
City of Stars was supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Lilongwe, Creative Scotland, Live Nation, Malawi’s Latitude 13 Hotel, Proflight Zambia, Wilderness Safaris and Scotland’s David Livingstone 200 Fund, with support from Arterial Network, Scotland Malawi Partnership and Malawi Tourism.
