This and That

The silence after the UMP awards

For some time, one thing that has divided opinion sharply is the outcome of the numerous award events that happen locally.

Rarely have people come to an outright agreement when it comes to winners of most awards. It is almost predictable that side-analysts will come up with their ideal list of winners off their unconventional handbooks.

They come up with a list of points to justify their speculative positions but at the end of the day their point of views remain opinions with no real value at least in the eyes of the organisers of that particular award competition.

But in that hole-picking pursuit, the arm-chair analysts at times get it right. The outcome of some awards have indeed at times left people with more questions than answers. From the nomination criteria to the final selection of the winners.

So, the role and opinions of these outside commentators need not to be ignored altogether. For organisers who are mindful of the quality and standards of their awards, they can use the side opinions as a pad to balance their output and the views of others.

There will always be situations where indeed they feel they got it wrong. In such situations, it only helps to take it with a pinch of salt and go back to the drawing board. They say the wise even learn from their sworn enemies after all.

My entry today is coming fresh on the back of the Urban Music People (UMP) blended edition music and fashion awards which took place last Saturday at a glamorous event at Crossroads Hotel in Blantyre.

The event itself was well organised, minus of course the usual problem of starting beyond the indicated scheduled time. The event organisers need to learn to stick to their programmes. It helps a lot and earns their professional resumes extra points.

It was rather disappointing to see high profile delegates being kept waiting in the hall for a good two hours as a team of organisers was busy running up and down the hall trying to get their machines to effective and efficient levels.

The night’s biggest winner, musician Wikise, was nowhere to receive his two awards when his name was called for the song of the year and artist of the year awards he had won. Everybody in the hall wondered where the artist had gone because before the show, he was spotted taking pictures with his fans outside the venue.

In my post-event interaction with the trending star, he told me he left the venue after he got tired of waiting for the start of the event. There was nobody who blame him. To him the starting time was 6.30 pm as the programme indicated and not two hours later.

Because of someone’s inefficiencies somewhere, the artist was denied a perfect chance to step on the podium to receive his two awards. That is a grand moment in the life of any artist. It is a dream for any creative to one day stand shoulder above everyone to get recognition for his effort.

Besides that, the aftermath of the UMP awards this year has been met with some unusual silence. There has not been much voices of disapproval as has been the case in the past years. Save for the best duo/group award which went to Lilongwe’s youthful band XVI, they weren’t many surprises which had people shaking their heads.

This is not an easy turn of events. It is very rare that an award event gets a nod of the majority. It is a clear indication that the UMP awards organising team got some things correct after all. It shows they have been listening to the concerns that people have raised over the years. Let them continue to listen so they can continue to perfect the award event.

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