OppiKoppi Festival postponed until 2020
JOBURG – Festival CEO says OppiKoppi is open to suggestions for its 25 edition.
The 25th edition of Oppikoppi, the annual music festival, has been postponed until 2020. The news comes after the festival released a statement on their website.
“This was a very big decision for us. The decision was made after discussions with all stakeholders, our international investors and partners, sponsors and partners on the viability of the project this year and we have their full support and backing on the decision,” said Theresho Selesho, CEO – Matchbox LIVE, owners of the OppiKoppi festival.
Last year, the festival said it experienced some criminal incidents which have impacted an array of events and festivals across South Africa and had hoped to present an event with increased security to curb any criminal activity and present a safe and enjoyable festival, however, the production costs proved to be high.
“By taking a gap year, we are giving ourselves the breathing room to redesign the festival and bring in the necessary changes without impacting the festivalgoer by increasing ticket prices. We believe that in doing this, we will bring everyone a fresh new festival, ready to take music lovers forward for the next 25 years,” said Selesho.
Selesho said they were happy about the evolution of the festival dynamics, which are changing at OppiKoppi.
“Globally, live music festivals are constantly evolving, and even more so in South Africa. We are very proud of the moves we have made and the direction of the festival, but we feel like we needed to take a step back and start with a completely clean slate. It is an opportunity for us to take a look at what our tribe of fun-loving fans want, where they want it, and for how long,” Selesho said.
Selesho said the OppiKoppi team was looking at the possibility of bringing the festival to a venue closer to a major city, to enable day tickets, less travelling and other options for the attendees and was open to all suggestions on venues, provinces, bands, genres and the works.
“We realise that a festival like OppiKoppi has a significant role to play in the South African music scene, along with a critical social cohesion role that it has been playing for many years. We are 100 per cent up for it but we want to do it right,” said Selesho.
