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Events that shaped the year

Sunday January 01 2023
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Yvan Buravan, Charly and Nina perform during his recent debut album launch in Kigali. PHOTO | ANDREW I KAZIBWE

By ANDREW I KAZIBWE

Entertainment scene have a buzz with concerts to keep revelers hooked up to the events.

As the curtains draw on the year, Rwanda Today looks at the key events that shaped the entertainment industry for the past 12 months.

Commonwealth Fashion Week With the Commonwealth

Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) was a major event that brought leaders to Kigali after the meeting suffered the impact of Covid-19, leading to postponement twice.

Side events were organized for the whole week to showcase what Rwandan culture could offer the delegates. Dubbed the Commonwealth Fashion Week, the event was co-hosted by Collective RW, a Rwandan annual fashion platform.

Produced by Fashion Scout, an award-winning international consultancy firm, the event which kicked off on June 21 featured greatly modulated discussions by top local and global fashion creative.

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The event’s grand finale which took place on June 26 at BK Arena, was one of Kigali’s notable breakthroughs, which transformed and cemented it into a fashion experience.

The show inspired by the CHOGM 2022 themes featured 16 designers from Africa, e Caribbean, and the UK showcasing top world leaders led by the then Prince of Wales, Charles.

Deaths of industry Icons

The local and continental music scene was gripped by the death of musician Yvan Burabyo alias Yvan Buravan on August 17 a er battling Cancer at the age of 27.

Admired for his hands-on vocals and live performance, his initial songs like Injyana featuring Umutare Gaby and Urwo Ngukunda with Uncle Austin, Yvan Buravan since 2015 captured the local musical scene.

More songs like Bindimo, Malaika and Oya followed before releasing Love Lab, his 2018 debut album. In the same month, there were more shocking news of the death
of Thomas Nkusi alias Yanga, a prominent Video Jockey, who passed at a hospital in South Africa. For closer to two decades Yanga had emerged as one of the pioneers of filmmakers.

On September 14, Gisele Precious Nsabimana, a rising Gospel music Act passed on at the age of 27. The devastating incident occurred two weeks after giving birth to her first child.

Miss Rwanda beauty Pageant in jeopardy

It was a bumpy ride for the national beauty pageant that finally saw its untimely cancellation after its organizers were arrested.

It all kicked off with Dieudonne Ishimwe alias Prince Kid, the CEO of Rwanda Inspiration Back Up, a company that was organising Miss Rwanda beauty pageant, who was arrested in April over allegations of sexually abusing girls who had participated in the Miss Rwanda contest.