Beyoncé is coming to South Africa – if sports minister Fikile Mbalula has his way.
The politician announced in an interview with Joburg commercial station KayaFM that he will bring the American superstar here as the headline act for the second annual South African Sports Awards.
Not one to shy away from splashing out on American stars, "Mr Razzmatazz" – as Mbalula is known – brought a jarring mix of film and music stars that included Brandy Norwood, Vivica A Fox and Regina King to perform and present at last year’s awards.
'Brandy’s my sister'
The event was held at the Sun City Resort in North West on August 21 and reportedly cost just shy of R46m.
Mbalula revealed his grand plans to KayaFM host Mo-G during his Top 40 show after the DJ asked if Norwood would be back this year.
"You can’t repeat one person all the time. Brandy’s my sister, she’s good. I think you guys can have her at Kaya for your show. She performed twice, now we’re going for Beyoncé man, Beyoncé!" Mbalula enthused.
On Thursday the minister would not be drawn into further discussion. However, on Friday his spokesperson, Paena Galane, confirmed that negotiations were under way to bring the Run The World (Girls) star to the awards, scheduled for 24 and 25 November.
He said the plan is to have a pre-awards party at a stadium where Beyoncé will perform on the Wednesday before the awards.
"We wanted her last year, but had to postpone because of her pregnancy," he added.
It is understood that Big Concerts has been roped in to facilitate the performance.
According to Galane, more information about the star attractions of the bash will be unveiled in August after the London Olympics.
While Galane would not reveal the figures, it was reported in 2010 that Beyoncé charged $2m (R17m) for an hour-long private gig for Hannibal Gaddafi, one of the late Muammar Gaddafi’s sons.
* Fikile Mbalula talks about his plans to bring Beyoncé to SA on KayaFM:
The politician announced in an interview with Joburg commercial station KayaFM that he will bring the American superstar here as the headline act for the second annual South African Sports Awards.
Not one to shy away from splashing out on American stars, "Mr Razzmatazz" – as Mbalula is known – brought a jarring mix of film and music stars that included Brandy Norwood, Vivica A Fox and Regina King to perform and present at last year’s awards.
'Brandy’s my sister'
The event was held at the Sun City Resort in North West on August 21 and reportedly cost just shy of R46m.
Mbalula revealed his grand plans to KayaFM host Mo-G during his Top 40 show after the DJ asked if Norwood would be back this year.
"You can’t repeat one person all the time. Brandy’s my sister, she’s good. I think you guys can have her at Kaya for your show. She performed twice, now we’re going for Beyoncé man, Beyoncé!" Mbalula enthused.
On Thursday the minister would not be drawn into further discussion. However, on Friday his spokesperson, Paena Galane, confirmed that negotiations were under way to bring the Run The World (Girls) star to the awards, scheduled for 24 and 25 November.
He said the plan is to have a pre-awards party at a stadium where Beyoncé will perform on the Wednesday before the awards.
"We wanted her last year, but had to postpone because of her pregnancy," he added.
It is understood that Big Concerts has been roped in to facilitate the performance.
According to Galane, more information about the star attractions of the bash will be unveiled in August after the London Olympics.
While Galane would not reveal the figures, it was reported in 2010 that Beyoncé charged $2m (R17m) for an hour-long private gig for Hannibal Gaddafi, one of the late Muammar Gaddafi’s sons.
* Fikile Mbalula talks about his plans to bring Beyoncé to SA on KayaFM: