06/12/2023
5th December 2023
Dear Friends, We would like to issue a heartfelt thanks from the Blantyre City Activation team to all our partners, sponsors, participants and participating brands.
Attendance; Words cannot express how lucky we feel to have held an event of this size successfully and to have over 1,000 attendees come through on its first try (in Blantyre the toughest city to get a crowd from) and on a day that was packed withs other equally prominent events. We crowned our Strongest Man in Blantyre through a dramatic car pull of a Land Rover Defender provided by the Land Rover club and sponsored by Habp & Castrol Oil Suppliers Ltd. We watched some of Malawi’s best boxers and kick boxers put up fighting exhibitions. We came together.
Over 30 Corporate and Social Teams showed up to celebrate the city in friendly games of Basketball, Football, Netball and Volleyball. These ranged from Churches like Blantyre Baptist, student teams such as Unima and CU Alumni, to private socials teams like Warriors Volleyball and a neighbourhood team put together last minute by a Capital FM radio presenter (Chilomoni FC). These teams all played together in the same arena as large companies such as FDH Bank and Rabs Processors and even government organizations such as The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), Malawi Bereau of Standards (MBS) and Blantyre Water Board. Most notably various NGOs and Funds such as Beitcure and Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust also took part in the games. Showing that the People and organizations of Blantyre have embraced the event and what it aims to achieve; to bring together the organizations and people within a city for the purpose of building cohesion and making a positive impact towards a healthier physical and psychological environment for residents. Thank you also to 16 plus vendor stalls and suppliers (including Inq, Ecoride, Five79, Henkus Investments, Blues Bar & Restaurant), who directly assisted in ensuring people were tagged, transported, fed, had access to toilets, clean water and free internet. As well as the 4 different security companies that worked together to manage specific aspects of the event (Shield Security, Stallion Security, A***n Security and Trident Security). Most notably Sunbird Hotels, who provided accomodation for performing artists. It was truly an event for the people and represented by different facets of the city. Can People & Brands Still get involved? To all the brands that missed out on a chance to set up stalls or participate with teams. You can still reach out to us and be a part of the Mudi River Cleanup efforts and Tree Planting activities scheduled with Sustain Green. We would also implore you to add next year’s event onto your budgets early for participations and partnerships.
Lessons; We acknowledge that there are various areas which we will need to do better such as communications with teams and vetting during team registrations, to ensure that teams are up to date with rules, any change in prizes and that fair play is being adhered to and no organizations are using hired or retired professionals to play for them. Most importantly as the event grows we may need to restrict the total number of teams allowed to participate or we may need to have the event on more than one day so that teams have ample time to rest and so that on the final day there is enough time for Music Acts to perform before people need to go home.
Special Thanks;
A special thank you goes out to the event venue KUHES (formerly College of Medicine) for their gracious accommodation of our event. To Blantyre City Council and the Office of the Mayor for being part of this event and the address done at the Mudi River Cleanup site. To Lifecare and Team Adventure who collectively supplied us with over 30 different first aid and event volunteers and to Omega water and KIPS who ensured they were hydrated and fed. To KOTG eSports and their contribution towards Youth Mental health through gaming at our event.
Last but not least, we would like to thank P-edge for design and MIKA Ink for all the branding they helped us print, Entertainers Promotions for Sound equipment and to our media sponsors Webtickets, A Foto Princie, Gold Mountain Media and Zodiak Broadcasting Station, for exemplary coverage and online media awareness. May you all continue to flourish in your areas of expertise and may we work together soon for an even more impactful event next year.
Yours Sincerely,
Talumba Chirwa
Creative Director, Hookline Limited.
+265 99 925 6780
