Nyege Nyege Music Festival In Uganda To Rake In $10 Million

This year’s Nyege Nyege music festival, which is held annually in Uganda and is the East African country's biggest tourism event, is estimated to bring in $10 million boost to the country’s economy, according to figures produced by Talent Africa.

Nyege Nyege is Africa’s leading music festival, featuring in publications globally including in the New York Times, La Monde, Mixmag and the Guardian. The festival was twice named the Uganda Tourism Board’s ‘Best Overall Tourism Event of the Year’ and hailed by leading UK music magazine FACT as one of The Best Music and Dance Festivals.

The festival returns for its 8th edition in an exciting new location for four days from Thursday Nov 9 to Sunday Nov 12 across seven stages.

In a statement, the organizers said, the festival, which is taking place following an invitation from the Mayor of Jinja and the Jinja City Council, Nyege Nyege will be held on three conjoined sites along the Nile River: The Jinja Golf Course, Source of the Nile, and the Jinja Showground.

With over 300 hotels, the city has enough accommodation for all budgets for all guests just minutes away from the venue. The festival is on course to attract 4,000 foreign visitors to Uganda this year, organisers revealed, and has resulted in the creation of 2,000 jobs directly through the festival and a further 2,000 jobs through the springing up of businesses to help facilitate visitors.

In addition, other economic effects include, more than 150 vendors being selected to send goods and services, the support services for the visiting artistes, professional service companies support and accommodation and travel bookings.

Festival organizers, Derek Debru and Arlen Dilsizian said: “Nyege Nyege has positioned Uganda as a safe, peaceful, and culturally rich country, and thus conducive to both tourism and investment. We are proud to have brought about an innovative blueprint for how festivals can both create a life transforming experience for attendees while at the same time generate a tremendous impact for the economy, from tourism to the creative industries.”

“The festival offers a great boost, as well as contributing to the blossoming of emerging talents and the promotion of traditional music which in turn is preserved and creates pride,” they added.

Originally held in 2015, Nyege Nyege was established to provide a platform for emerging Ugandan artistes to showcase their talents to new audiences. It has since grown into an international event celebrated by the global media that this year will showcase more than 300 artists from not only across Africa but music artists globally.

Those performing this year include Tash LC, Blk Jks, De Schuurman, Rosa Pistola and DJ Marcelle as well as headliners Sho Madjozi and Eddy Kenzo. Artistes are set to perform across the festival’s nine stages with visitors offered boat trips and water activities from the festival site and food experiences within the Nyege Nyege grounds.

The festival also offers wellness programs with yoga and fitness experiences, a theatre showcasing the best of African cinema, and the Nyege East African Emporium featuring brands and creatives from the region. Foreign visitors are projected from ticket sales to include 1,200 from outside of East Africa and 2,800 from outside Uganda in the East Africa region.

Nyege Nyege grew from the ‘Explore Uganda’ brand which was launched by the Uganda Tourism Board to spotlight the opportunities for visitors to the country. The Board highlighted the festival as well as Uganda’s range of tourism activities, including the country’s Rwenzori mountains, exotic wildlife, lively nightlife, and sacred religious monuments to boost the tourism sector.