Centurion residents livid over ‘noisy’ late-night concert
“We found the event very invasive and unacceptable. We were not made aware of the concert or anything. With the air show, it was different, we were given flyers informing us about it, and at about 18:00 they were finished,” complains a resident.
This year’s Rocking the Daisies festival, which was held at the SuperSport Park in Centurion, left a bitter taste in the mouth of Centurion residents in the surrounding areas.
This is after the show went on past midnight on Sunday evening, according to nearby residents.
They felt it was inconsiderate of the event’s organisers to play the music so loud, adding that it was disrespectful and unnecessary.
Amanda Venter told Rekord that she felt disrespected by the manner the whole situation was handled.
“It was so unnecessary for people to play the music that loud, we couldn’t even hear ourselves properly. We could hear the music in our bedrooms,” an angry Venter said.
She further said she wanted to know whoever approved the concert to be held at the park on Sunday.
Petrus Esterhuyzen echoed Venter’s sentiments as well, saying that he lives 2km away from the park but he could hear the noise from the concert.
Esterhuyzen told Rekord that he couldn’t even hear a television set in his own house.
“I couldn’t even hear videos in my own house, that’s how loud it was. I am not very happy because it went on until midnight.
“Residents [living] around me were all complaining about the sound and that’s not acceptable,” he added.
Esterhuyzen further said some people needed to get up early in the mornings.
“We found the event very invasive. We were not made aware of the concert or anything. With the air show, it was different. We were given flyers informing us about it and at about 18:00 they were done,” he said.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the metro issued the event organiser with the permit after it was satisfied with the event’s detailed plan for the show, which included a noise exemption permit and many other compliance requirements, public liability, a medical operational plan and a security plan.
“A compliance certificate was issued for the event, which was categorised as medium-risk, to proceed as per the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act.
“A compliance certificate is issued to the event organisers after they have supplied the City with full operational plans or safety files,” Mashigo added.
He said the show was supposed to end at midnight as it was stipulated on the compliance certificate.
Ward councillor in the area Gert Visser confirmed that the concert organisers did have permission from the metro, adding that all paperwork was done accordingly.
“Permission was granted by the Tshwane metro to host the concert after due process had been followed,” Visser said.
Meanwhile, SuperSport Park CEO Dr Jacques Faul apologised to Centurion residents for causing the inconvenience to the public.
“I do apologise for the inconvenience that was caused by the concert. We take the concerns of the residents to heart, it’s not something we take lightly. We wish there was a different way of making money that doesn’t lead to any discomfort,” Faul said.
He also said that he had several engagements with the community forum to come up with ways how things could properly move forward.
Furthermore, Faul said he will do a follow-up with the previous sound engineer to get an idea of how the level of sound was to improve.
“It is also difficult to assess how many people are discomforted about the concert but we do feel it’s something we need to consider and we are sorry.
“We are also appreciating that Sunday is not a good day for it, and we take notice of that. Many people we have spoken with told us that Saturday was fine but Sunday was not good.”
He, however, said residents were informed via the Doornkloof community forum and added that the concert ended at midnight as it was the scheduled time.
“We did apply for the certificate joint centre at the City, which requires a sound engineer that controls the noise levels of the concert and that is one of the things we need to adhere to.”
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