It is not a secret that Uganda is considered by many to be the entertainment Hub of East Africa with regular events.
From January to December, Monday to Monday, dusk to dawn weekend in and weekend out, there is a party somewhere in Kampala or any other part of Uganda. Revelers are served a festival, party event, etc on a daily basis. It is only your money and time that can prevent you from having fun in this noble country.
As a result, hotels, rugby grounds, football fields, rooftops of various buildings, etc are always fully booked, and getting space on a weekend to host an event is like squeezing water out of a stone. From Rolex festivals, Blankets and wine, World pork day, Music shows, Nyege Nyege, Purple party, Zari’s all-white parties, ASFAs, Christmas Cantata, Motor rally events, End of year parties, School leagues, etc, events don’t stop at this town.
Starting a festival is not so hard in Uganda as long as one has enough Capital, an easy-to-reach venue, a good concept for the party, good advertisement, sponsors, and musicians to light up the moment, then you are good to go.
In this article, I want us to look at some of the events that used to be so big in this country, used to fill up venues, could attract big crowds, were the darling of any sponsor, etc about 5 years ago but are no longer that big or even don’t exist to date. The question is what went wrong?
The Pearl of Africa Music Awards (PAM AWARDS) EVENTS.
This was an annual Music Awards ceremony introduced in 2003 to award the best Ugandan musicians. This used to be a very high-end event from the early 2000s through to 2010. PAM Awards were the darling of every sponsor attracting sponsorship packages in excesses of a billion shillings. They attracted the “who is who”of Kampala’s elites. Many musicians such as Dr. Jose chameleon, Juliana Kanyomozi, Mesach Ssemakula, Bebe cool, Bobi Wine, Paul Kafeero, etc benefited from the nominations, awards, and publicity that came with these Awards.
If you talk to anyone in town, they will tell you that these are the most authentic Music awards ceremony that Uganda has known. The last event was held in 2010. MTN used to be one of the biggest sponsors of these awards.
MISS UGANDA beauty pageant.
This is a beauty pageant that has been going on for several years in Uganda now. This is part of Miss World and it is where beauty queens are crowned in Uganda to later compete for the Miss World crown. Miss Uganda used to be a darling of many partygoers back in the day but has since lost its former glory with revelers questioning its authenticity in terms of the selection of the beauty queen sponsors throwing in the towel and so on. Miss Uganda is now a shell of its former self. We hope it will get bigger.
THE KAMPALA CAPITAL CITY AUTHORITY CARNIVAL.
The KCCA annual city carnival as it was commonly known, was a carnival first organized by former Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) executive director Jennifer Ssemakula Lubwama Musisi, and it used to take place in the heart of Kampala with over 7 different stages and a host of musicians, DJs, Mcees and so on. It used to take place every first Sunday of October. According to records from KACCA, in 2014 alone, this carnival attracted 2 million revelers and it was free of charge.
The carnival was meant to bring Kampala dwellers together into unity and celebrate life together and have fun. To date, this big carnival is no longer organized, and details on why it stopped are still sketchy. People gathered together to celebrate life, fashion, music culture, and so on. The executive director herself would be the
main celebrant.
THE ROYAL ASCOT GOAT RACE
This used to be a charity show organized annually in Uganda at the prestigious 90-acre Speke resort in Munyonyo, with goat races, beer gardens, champagne, fashion, music, and networking all in one. It was first organized in 1993. This too was one of the biggest events on the party calendar in Uganda but attracted a more corporate and elite class of the town. This event has taken a long without being held. We hope it will bounce back bigger and better. The organizers of this event were the Ruparelia foundation headed by City tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia.
THE ANNUAL DOG SHOW.
This event used to be held in Kampala annually, bringing together dog lovers from all over Uganda to celebrate man’s best friend, the dog!! Therefore people would come through with their favorite dog breeds a German shepherd, Belgian mastiff, rottweiler, Akita, Afghan Hound, Pitbulls, and so on. People from as far as the Democratic Republic of Congo would join in this fun family day out.
The Uganda police dog section used to have the best dogs. Individuals also brought in their pets, dog food companies, and dog trainers all met to interact with the revelers. Apart from dog exhibitions, music, and fashion interactions were part of the package too. This event is no longer as big as it used to be back in the day, but it happens nevertheless.
THE FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
This used to be a basketball event held mostly at the basketball court of the YMCA Institute in Wandegeya being sponsored by Tusker. Many basketball lovers gathered together to celebrate basketball, organized under different teams. It used to take place on Fridays from 7 pm till late. It is no longer as strong as it used to be back then.
THE ANNUAL NILE GOLD POLO CLASSIC.
This was an event that used to gather Polo lovers in Kakira, eastern Uganda. Polo, a sport popularly known for affluent and sophisticated people, is played quite a lot in Jinja and so the Polo competitions would be organized in Kakira where elites would meet up, play the game, and network. It has since taken a big break but we hope it will bounce back.
Those are part of the events that used to make it big here in Uganda but have since lost momentum.
Stay blessed.
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