Durban: THE organisers of a Bollywood concert meant to be staged yesterday said local government had offered no support for an event that would have been a money-spinner for Durban.
Bollywood stars Hrithik Roshan, Madhuri Dixit, Sonakshi Sinha, Ankit Tiwari and Harshdeep Kaur were to appear at Moses Mabhida Stadium, but the event was postponed after some of the 60 dancers had visa problems.
Airport Times spent R8 million to R10m organising the event.
The last time Bollywood stars of such calibre performed in Durban, the city hosted the SA Indian Film and Television Awards (Saiftas) in 2013.
Nerash Dayanand, of Airport Times, said he had asked several municipal officials for financial assistance and was told no funds were available.
“The support request process was initiated in January and all we got from the council was that there was no budget.
“If there is no budget, how does the city make millions available for non-Indian events? If this is audited, several council employees will be brought to account,” said Dayanand.
He said some who would not help promote the event had nevertheless asked for complimentary tickets to the show.
“Durban Tourism decided to piggyback on the event’s appeal by posting it on their website.
“It’s rumoured that officials at the city’s events management office said that if we got assistance, I would need to build a few low-cost homes, to be seen to be giving back to the community.”
He said the funding stance was inexplicable given that the city had funded other major major international concerts in the past, citing the Nicki Minaj and TI concerts last year, which cost more than R6m.
The events created a stir and had opposition political parties spitting fire about the waste of taxpayers’ money.
Durban Tourism head Phillip Sithole said that the city’s budget for events was set in December and the organisers had approached the council only in January.
“We did not have the funding for the event and still do not have it. Budgets are allocated in advance and if funding is needed, organisers need to approach us in good time. I can also confirm we do not have budgets to fund any events for the next three years, except those already approved in advance,” said Sithole.
He said marketing an event also required a budget and the city was unable to do that either.
“Now that the event has been postponed, we can engage the organisers and review if there is a budget available,” said Sithole.
About 3 000 tickets for yesterday’s show had already been sold and buyers took to Facebook to express their dissatisfaction at the postponement. Some said they had booked flights to attend.
The organisers said the tickets would still be valid for the next date, which is being negotiated in India by representatives of Airport Times.
At this stage, May 12 seemed a likely date.