Blue Amber Zanzibar and Busara Promotions Announce Three Year Sponsorship Deal

• Luxury resort Blue Amber Zanzibar steps in to rescue Sauti za Busara festival major sponsorship deal 

• Ensures music event can continue for three years

Pennyroyal Limited, developers of Blue Amber Zanzibar, a leading African leisure destination and Zanzibar’s premier island resort, and Busara Promotions, organisers of pan-African music festival Sauti za Busara (Sounds of Wisdom) have inked a new sponsorship deal that will ensure the festival’s continuity and sustainability.

Blue Amber Zanzibar and Busara Promotions Announce Three Year Sponsorship Deal

The new five-figure sponsorship deal helps secure the festival’s continuation, after carving a creative niche in the regional arts landscape over the last 19 years. The live music festival takes place over four days and nights, featuring 400 artists, 40 groups and comprising 70 percent east African music. The annual event in Stone Town attracts a global audience of 28,000 people.

CEO of Blue Amber, Grant Anderson, says, “When we learnt the festival was closing its doors due to lack of funding, Blue Amber was proud to take the leading role in announcing the festival’s sponsorship. We are proud to enter the 20^th year of this iconic cultural event that has established Zanzibar as the East African hub of musical entertainment together."

“The festival has produced valuable tourism investment and income for our citizens, through performing artists, employment of staging personnel, and valuable media publicity promoting Zanzibar.”

Anderson says the event will now become a pillar of the developer’s corporate social responsibility mandate, as all citizens can continue to reap benefits from the festival.

“We have also put in strategic plans to help the promoters of Sauti za Busara to make it self-sustainable and would like to assure Zanzibaris that the Sauti za Busara festival will grow in stature and reputation,” adds the CEO.

Festival Director and CEO of Sauti za Busara, Yusuf Mahmoud adds, "The festival would not be possible without support from donors and sponsors, such as the Norwegian Embassy which 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 for visitors to the region. We look forward to welcoming all to Zanzibar in February 2023 to celebrate a very special 20th edition," adds the Festival Director.

Founder of Blue Amber Zanzibar, Saleh emphasised, “As a Zanzibari I was devastated to hear that the Sauti za Busara music festival was unable to continue due to 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 with this sponsorship deal will bring stability to the festival plans.”

Zanzibar Minister of Information, Culture and Sports, Hon. Tabia Maulidi Mwita, says, “The Sauti za Busara festivals have attracted thousands of people from across the world to our beautiful island. We have seen significant economic growth in Zanzibar over the years. One major contributing factor has been the music festival. It is a stage where our musicians and artists have been able to show the world the culture and heritage of Zanzibar."

“It has also been a stage for us to learn from other countries and adopt best practices that have helped our communities develop creatively and have freedom of expression.”

Don’t miss the 20th Sauti za Busara festival, Stone Town, Zanzibar, 9-12 February 2023.

Blue Amber Zanzibar is the largest resort development of its kind in Africa and recognized as a strategic investment project in Tanzania. Pennyroyal Limited is the developer of Blue Amber Zanzibar www.blueamberzanzibar.com.

Busara Promotions is a non-profit NGO established in Zanzibar since 2003, aiming to promote professional employment opportunities in an East African music industry that is connected and in exchange with other regions www.busaramusic.org.