Miller Party Thrills
Staff Writer | Monday June 23, 2014 12:26
The party was a send off of Botswana’s Miller Genuine Draft’s global SoundClash competition winner DJ King.
Miller brought a world-class stage set, good sound-system LED walls, fireworks and turned GICC into an electronic music club. The show was hosted by South African personalities Sphectacula and DJ Naves and featured other South African heavyweights, DJ Fresh, Euphonik and Khuli Chana. German Dollar, who was the runner-up in the DJ competition, was the only Motswana other than winner DJ King. The show was otherwise a South African affair. The organisers did not only bring their world-class set but also brought in their own people. From stage managers, dancers, security heads to the media, all were South African. After receiving VIP invites during the press conference on Friday local media were turned away from the VIP area.
Journalists only learnt at the door that their tags were degraded to allowing access only through the general entrance. Entrance to the show was strictly by invitation.
Local photographers were denied pit access since they didn’t have the right tags. At some point during the show photojournalists staged a mini protest demanding that they be let on stage where only South African Miller media was allowed in. The South African organisers briefly allowed them in after a near brawl incident with the photographers.
But the stage manager later refused the photographers access, forcing them to photograph from the crowd area in a low-lit venue and turning them into ‘accredited intruders’.