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Johannesburg - The annual South African Music Awards (SAMAs) held at the weekend at Montecasino in Fourways, Johannesburg, were "poorly organised, boring and disappointing".
This is what artists and members of the public had to say on Twitter and Facebook on Sunday after several people were robbed at the ceremony, artists' accommodation arrangements were mixed up, tickets for the event were not available on time and the sound system was apparently defective.
Artists and special guests had to queue to pick up their tickets despite an earlier e-mail from the organisers that guaranteed the tickets would be available from 10:00 on Friday.
Singer and songwriter Philip de Villiers wrote on the SAMAs Facebook page that he and a colleague were two of about 20 people whose wallets, cell phones and cameras were stolen during the celebrations.
"People's safety was in danger, because there was no control over the people and no security measures in place," De Villiers wrote.
Apology
For Guillaume de Villiers of the Cape Town group Abbott NuJazz , who was nominated for a SAMA, the experience was "definitely not pleasant".
After flying from Cape Town to Johannesburg last Friday, there was no one to pick them up at the airport, their accommodation upon arrival at Montecasino was not organised and in addition to that they had to queue for their tickets.
Bridget Bhengu, media spokesperson for MTN who has long been sponsoring the event, on Sunday could not explain what was happening and was unaware that people were robbed.
According to Entertainment Africa, the organisation responsible for organising the event, RiSA (The Recording Industry Of South Africa), has issued an apology.
Montecasino
"The SAMA organisers acknowledge that there were a number of operational and logistical challenges in the lead-up to the event that led to the inconveniencing of many guests attending the event," the statement read.
The event, which had previously been held at Sun City, was held at Montecasino this year - a move which RiSA claims contributed to the issues, according to the reported statement.
"The SAMA organisers would like to extend an apology to all SAMA and MTN guests who experienced difficulties with ticket collection and/or accommodation. Despite these challenges the SAMA organisers embrace the decision made to bring the awards to Jo'burg at the new venue.
"The organisers of the Annual South African Music Awards are committed to ensuring that these kinds of issues do not happen again," the statement continued.
This is what artists and members of the public had to say on Twitter and Facebook on Sunday after several people were robbed at the ceremony, artists' accommodation arrangements were mixed up, tickets for the event were not available on time and the sound system was apparently defective.
Artists and special guests had to queue to pick up their tickets despite an earlier e-mail from the organisers that guaranteed the tickets would be available from 10:00 on Friday.
Singer and songwriter Philip de Villiers wrote on the SAMAs Facebook page that he and a colleague were two of about 20 people whose wallets, cell phones and cameras were stolen during the celebrations.
"People's safety was in danger, because there was no control over the people and no security measures in place," De Villiers wrote.
Apology
For Guillaume de Villiers of the Cape Town group Abbott NuJazz , who was nominated for a SAMA, the experience was "definitely not pleasant".
After flying from Cape Town to Johannesburg last Friday, there was no one to pick them up at the airport, their accommodation upon arrival at Montecasino was not organised and in addition to that they had to queue for their tickets.
Bridget Bhengu, media spokesperson for MTN who has long been sponsoring the event, on Sunday could not explain what was happening and was unaware that people were robbed.
According to Entertainment Africa, the organisation responsible for organising the event, RiSA (The Recording Industry Of South Africa), has issued an apology.
Montecasino
"The SAMA organisers acknowledge that there were a number of operational and logistical challenges in the lead-up to the event that led to the inconveniencing of many guests attending the event," the statement read.
The event, which had previously been held at Sun City, was held at Montecasino this year - a move which RiSA claims contributed to the issues, according to the reported statement.
"The SAMA organisers would like to extend an apology to all SAMA and MTN guests who experienced difficulties with ticket collection and/or accommodation. Despite these challenges the SAMA organisers embrace the decision made to bring the awards to Jo'burg at the new venue.
"The organisers of the Annual South African Music Awards are committed to ensuring that these kinds of issues do not happen again," the statement continued.
