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The Victoria Falls Carnival and the Tourism Night will be part of the welcoming ceremony for UNWTO General Assembly delegates

Problem Masau Arts Correspondent
PREPARATIONS for the Victoria Falls Carnival on August 23 are at an advanced stage with artistes already registering with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority to take part in the arts fete. The carnival will see artistes showcasing their talents to the world in a street procession where floats from different artistes will be judged.
After successfully hosting the Zimbabwe International Carnival, ZTA hopes that the Victoria Falls Carnival will be bigger and better.
The Tourism Night would be held the following day at Victoria Falls Primary School and will see several artistes performing at the arts festival.

Although the full list of the performing artistes is not yet out, several big names like Alick Macheso, Suluman Chimbetu and Jah Prayzah are expected to be part of this prestigious event.

The late Chiwoniso Maraire, who was among the artistes who won the UNWTO theme song competition, was also supposed to perform at the event.
“It will be a free show. We will be celebrating the coming of the general assembly to Zimbabwe. The carnival will be like the one witnessed in Harare.

“We have also lined up Victoria Falls artistes to be part of the contingent that will be performing on the night,” said ZTA spokesperson Sugar Chagonda.

The Victoria Falls Carnival and the Tourism Night will be part of the welcoming ceremony for UNWTO General Assembly delegates.
The only time an UNWTO General Assembly was held in Africa was in Dakar, Senegal, in 2005. Zimbabwe and Zambia are co-hosting the 20th Session of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly from August 24 to 29.

According to the ZTA, the coming of the general assembly to Southern Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia in particular, is a grand lifetime achievement of the current generation.

For Zimbabwe, a destination that underwent vast transformation and rebranding exercises, this is a perfect opportunity for Zimbabwe’s destination brand endorsement.

The celebration through song and dance is set to go beyond the event. This initiative will be a great opportunity especially for Zimbabwe to reach out and increase visibility particularly marketing domestic tourism.