DJ spinning tracks.
Photo: Flickr/Bright-nagel
DJ spinning tracks.
Photo: Flickr/Bright-nagel
With the miserable absence of live music events and festivals during the nationwide lockdown, live streaming events are being set up to garner funds to support both frontline workers and ordinary South Africans during the economic crisis.
Event industry leaders, as well as non-profit organisations (NPOs), are pivoting their services to facilitate the streaming events that will operate on a platform whereby revenue received from tickets sold, as well as donations, will help fund Doctors Without Borders (MSF) efforts globally and in other cases will help support creatives and artists who find themselves in the lurch without an audience in front of them.
Covaid Africa
NPO Covaid Africa was set up in April and will host an online streaming event every Sunday, with acclaimed artists joining to entertain you from the comfort of your couch.
Profits raised from the donations platform on the site will go directly to MSF, who continue their sterling frontline work in countries all over the world in the fight against COVID-19.
Niklas Huppmann, co-founder of Covaid Africa, said that the concerts will be able to generate a significant amount of money to assist with the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other essential resources MSF need to do their work.
“By staying home, we can save lives. Medical front line workers in Africa need the world’s support, and they need it now. After our first concert, we can see how many people want to contribute to Doctors Without Borders by donating. We are confident that our high-quality live-streamed concerts will raise enough funds to make a difference.
“Together, our global movement can support front line workers and empower people to believe beyond borders” he said.
This week’s line-up includes acts by Wallis Bird, Flo Bo Riva and Graham Candy, and the concert can be viewed on their youtube page.
Dream Stream Digital Festival
Event industry leaders, who last week announced the launch of the SAFE fund that provides food parcels through the Pick n Pay feeding scheme for hourly workers who currently have no income, have now announced a series of “lockdown concerts” which they hope will raise funds that will provide relief to artists, as well as those in the entertainment industry left in the lurch by the halting of festivals and events.
The Dream Stream Digital Festival will be streamed into your homes from 24 to 26 April, and will feature several top South African acts that will make it possible for you to transform your living room into a dance floor.
The festival will also offer viewers “DreamCamps” where they can get to enjoy the music privately with their friends or family (up to 500 people) via Zoom, the video conferencing platform, allowing them to hangout, dance and have fun together.
Shai Evian, Co-Founder of event ticketing and cashless platform Howler said that the funds raised through the digital event will contribute to the growing success of the SAFE Fund.
“The funds raised by DreamStream will go towards SAFE (South African Fund 4 Entertainment), an NPO fund established to help support the unsung heroes and heroines within the live events and entertainment industry. In just 48 hours since we announced, we have received over 2000 relief applications to feed 12000 people. DreamSteam is the first major fundraiser for SAFE and are trying to raise R1m which will aim to feed 11 000 crew members,”
“These people are the technicians, stage riggers, cleaners, security guards, bar staff, ticketing staff and more, who are very often hired on a temporary/hourly basis and are sitting at home with no income and food as a result of COVID-19 and the lockdown.”
