SA artists unhappy with June 10 line-up

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Pretoria - Local musicians will on Thursday meet Minister of Arts and Culture, Lulu Xingwana, and the Local Organising Committee to discuss their concerns about not being adequately represented in the line-up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup celebration concert on 10 June.

In a meeting held on Tuesday, Minister Lulu Xingwana assured artists that every effort will be made to address their concerns.

In discussions on Tuesday, artists said despite the World Cup being held for the first time on African soil, most of the artists announced for the June 10 line-up at Orlando Stadium are not African or particularly South African.

They argued that during the tournament's artistic programme should reflect a holistic African experience and that the June 10 concert at Orlando Stadium in particular should have 80 percent representation of South African and African artists.

They also emphasised the importance of 100 percent local content on radio and television and the need for more airtime to be devoted to South African and African arts and culture.

Xingwana said she would convene another meeting with the artists for a report-back session.