The annual multi disciplinary event, which is held in Gaborone every first week of September, marked its return after an 18 months absence due to COVID-19 in December 2021, with the Champagne Picnic.
That was followed with a new event on the stable on April 16, 2022 dubbed the Afro Tech Fest, which were all building up to the main event in September. As preparations for the main event that will run from August 26 to September 3 gets underway, the organisers have released line-ups dominated by big shots for both the jazz and music festival.
The line-ups are made up a select of international and local artists. The line-up for the GIMC jazz festival comprises Ringo, Mpho Sebina, Sereetsi & The Natives and Dati Seiko. Normal tickets for the jazz event sell at P250 while P400 gets one into the Gold Circle.
The music festival, which is arguably the most popular of the GIMC festivities, will be held on September 3 at the National Stadium. Among those lined up to perform include South African artistes Emtee, Makhadzi, Mafikizolo while on the local scene there is Franco, Colastraw, T.H.A.B.O, Gouveia, Ngwazi and Ancestral Rituals. Mafikizolo are a household name with a good following in Botswana, while Makhadzi is currently the most sort-after artiste in South Africa. In March, she hosted her first one-woman show in Botswana and filled up the Royal Aria Stadium in Tlokweng. Like Makhadzi, Franco needs no introduction as the legendary Kwasa Kwasa star recently filled up the National Stadium during his Soul Fill Up With Franco festival. Normal tickets for the music festival sell at P200 while VVIP tickets cost P2,000.
Event organiser and founder of GIMC Thapelo Fish Pabalinga said preparations for the festival are in full swing for the week-long event. “Preparations are going well. We are on track with everything at the moment,” he told Arts & Culture. He said they have dealt with the line-up early to move on to other things. This year, the organisers say, GIMC will be bigger and different from the previous events as they aim to set standards even higher. Started in 2014, the event has continued to experience growth with its popularity going beyond borders. Among other activities that take place during the GIMC include charity, poetry, comedy, Jazz, fashion and music.
