After the world is gradually moving away from the shackles of the deadly pandemic that shut the world economy in 2020 which the entertainment sector is one of the most affected, fans and music lovers are happy that musical concerts are gradually holding after the heavy restrictions placed on heavy gathering to curb the spread of the deadly Covid-19 Virus. In Nigeria, several concerts were headlined and fans trooped out in their larger number to witness their favorite artiste perform and also get their groove back after Covid took the musical concert away. During this yuletide period, Cocacola Urban Music Festival also showcased lots of artists on the 18th of December at the Eko Atlantic energy center.
With the beautiful spectacle that comes with the beautifully built stage, to the lightings, security apparatus and stage settings, the event was tagged a stressful one as many who attended complained vehemently about the distance they had to walk before getting to the stage where the performance was holding. According to an eyewitness who attended the Nigerian Bottling Company NBC; Cocacola Urban music festival in conjunction with Guinness Nigeria averred; despite the alluring stage with lightings and other security apparatus put in place, the event was too stressful that it killed the vibes of teeming fans who attended. Those attending walked a large distance before getting to where the event was held. “It was a stressful event but because of the love for the artiste who headlined the show, we had to go through that stress. We tracked like we were going to Jerusalem. Majority of us had to park on the former bar beach road as we were being harassed by some street urchins who collected 1k each from all sundry who parked. For those who questioned the money, they were being harassed. Some were parked for 2k. Lots of Extortion. The organizers might have had a good intention but it was too stressful. Only a few vendors were allowed to sell snacks, food and drinks. We could not buy things to eat or drink. there was too much influx. it was not well coordinated. The bouncers were not civil in their approach most especially to ladies. lots of things that happened that I observed that I won’t like to disclose.”
Another source also claimed that the event was also marred by bad sound as the audience was struggling to hear the musical performance. “The sound was poor as we were struggling to hear artiste performance. It was so obvious during Wande Coal’s performance as he also complained of not getting feedback to hear his voice. The event would have been a great one but people who attended complained vehemently about the stress which is a turn-off for many.” An inside source disclosed that; a huge amount of money was allocated for sounds. “It was just unfortunate that the speakers were not enough to capture the radius of the event space. The space swallowed the sound as well. The sponsors were not happy with it but they had to move on.”
