Blue Amber Zanzibar steps in to rescue Sauti za Busara Festival.Zanzibar, 29 March 2022. Pennyroyal Limited the developers of Blue Amber Zanzibar a leading African leisuredestination and Zanzibar’s premier island resort, and Busara Promotions the organizers of the Sauti za Busaraa pan- African festival that has celebrated African music for the past 19 years, announce a new sponsorshipdeal that will see the festival’s continuity and sustainability.“When we received the news that the festival was closing its doors due to the lack of funding, Blue Amberwas proud to take the leading role in announcing the festival’s sponsorship. As we enter the 20th year ofthis iconic cultural event that has established Zanzibar as the East African hub of musical entertainment”said CEO of Blue Amber Grant Anderson“The festival has produced valuable tourism investment and income for our citizens, through performingartists, employment of staging personnel, and valuable media publicity promoting Zanzibar.” added BlueAmber CEO, Grant Anderson. “The festival now becomes a pillar of our Corporate Social Responsibilitymandate and we would like to see the men and women continue benefiting from the annual event. Wehave also put in strategic plans to help the promoters of Sauti za Busara to make it self-sustainable andwould like to assure the Zanzibaris, and globally, that the Sauti za Busara festival will grow in stature andreputation.”CEO & Festival Director Yusuf Mahmoud stated “The festival would not be possible without support fromdonors and sponsors, such as the Norwegian Embassy who covered most of our office running costs since 2009.
As this support expired in March 2022, we spent most of the past year trying to find another funding partner, to no avail. Although we don’t give up easily, time was running out and we had almost lost hope of being able to continue.
Finally at the last minute, like a miracle, Blue Amber Zanzibar offered to save Busara, and keep our organisation alive for three more years. Words cannot describe the joy our team is feeling at this moment, knowing the festival will continue. A happiness that will be shared by thousands of artists and audiences across the world.
“We thank all involved in this decision and urge all leaders in our public and private sector to follow Blue Amber’s example, to invest in arts and culture, which offer unique and unforgettable experiences forvisitors to the region. We look forward to welcoming all to Zanzibar in February 2023 to celebrate a very special 20th edition!” said the festival director Yusuf Mahmoud.
The founder of Blue Amber Zanzibar Saleh Said emphasized “As a Zanzibari I was devastated to hear that the Sauti za Busara music festival was unable to continue due to a lack of funds. It would be a travesty if the festival came to an end and impacted on the livelihoods of our people and Zanzibar as a whole. We are pleased that our intervention of this sponsorship deal will bring stability to the festiva plans.”
“The Sauti za Busara festivals have attracted thousands of people from across the world to our beautifulisland. We have seen significant economic growth in Zanzibar over the years and one contributing factorhas been the music festival. It is a stage where our musicians and artists have been able to show the worldthe culture and heritage of Zanzibar. It has also been a stage for us to learn from other countries andadopt best practices that have helped our communities develop creatively and have freedom ofexpression.” said Minister of Information, Culture and Sports Zanzibar Hon. Tabia Maulidi Mwita. “Thenews that Blue Amber will enable the continuity of Sauti za Busara is exulting to all Zanzibaris.” AddedMinister Tabia Maulidi Mwita.
Blue Amber Zanzibar is the largest resort development of its kind in Africa and recognized as a strategicinvestment project in Tanzania. Pennyroyal Limited is the developer of Blue Amber Zanzibar.https://www.blueamberzanzibar.com/
Busara Promotions is a non-profit NGO established in Zanzibar since 2003, aiming to promote professionalemployment opportunities in an East African music industry that is connected and in exchange with otherregions https://www.busaramusic.org/
