Piece by: ASHLEY OTIENO

12 June 2023

• Here are some of the few things that made the Stanbic Yetu Festival stand out from other concerts that have been held in Nairobi.

The Stanbic Yetu Festival went down on Saturday 10th of June at Uhuru Gardens and many things stood out at the event.

As a goer of concerts and events, some little nitty-gritty details caught my eye at the event.

The majority of Kenyan concerts have been associated with insecurity, and people losing phones to as far as people even losing their lives to thieves.

But for the Stanbic Yetu Festival, the security at the event was top-notch, you could walk to the far end of the event without feeling like you need to be afraid.

The choice of venue for most events at times there is no consideration in terms of secure areas around the event location hence people end up being mugged while leaving the event.

In consideration of the weather and terrain, some events are held in areas where if it rains people go home full of mud but that was not the case at Uhuru Gardens even when it rained.

For some events it goes as far as not providing enough tent space for everyone but just for the VIPs and VVIP seating in case of a downpour.

But at the Stanbic Yetu Festival, they ensured everyone was in a tent space and there was enough room for people to shelter from the rain.

Treating the VIPs' and VVIPs at a concert like the important guests they are, at the Stanbic Yetu Festival they ensured that they got their money's worth.

This is by ensuring they got the best views closer to the stage, personal washrooms, food was provided in plenty, and allocated bar areas for them to be served.

Timeliness is a factor and in most events you are told it starts at 6 pm only for the event to start at 10 pm most people were surprised that the concert ended at 10 pm everything went as per the schedule.

At some events, it gets so messy at the queues where people are buying drinks but for this event, the waiters and waitresses were enough and were moving around to sell and serve the drinks to the customers at all sections.

In very few concerts do people seating in the regular area actually get seats to be able to rest when they are tired of standing or to even watch from but Stanbic Yetu Festival organizers ensured there were seats for the people at regular.

The ticketing place at the entrance was well organized and as opposed to other concerts where you get to the ticketing department and there is just a lot of chaos from few attendants to no queues.

However, the concert registered a few shortcomings when it came to sound and screens for the main arena section.