The Covid-19 pandemic and cultural event(s) cancellation in South Africa: views of the royal reed dance in KwaNongoma, KwaZulu Natal

Abstract

Cultural festivals have emerged not only as events that showcase cultural and social values, but as instruments that promote tourism development, tourism seasonality expansion, image improvement, community pride and socioeconomic growth. The Royal Reed Dance Ceremony (RRDC) hosted annually in KwaNongoma, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa is one such events. Since March 2020 (until 2022), the events industry in South Africa has been severely impacted as all gatherings were prohibited owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. This engendered a spiralling effect on the sector with most cultural festivals being cancelled or postponed. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of the cancellation of the RRDC cultural festival in KwaNongoma, by considering the sociocultural and socioeconomic effects resulting from the cancellation. The objectives were to discuss the effects of the cancellation of the RRDC, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, as perceived by the event stakeholders, to explore lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic; to propose guidelines and protocols for the organisation of safe cultural festivals in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and potential future pandemics. In carrying out the study, qualitative research was conducted by means of phenomenological approach. Due to data collection constraints, the study followed non-probability convenience sampling and a total of 14 in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the researcher had to conduct virtual interviews with the participants either telephonically or through other virtual platforms like Zoom or MS Teams. The recorded data obtained from the maidens, residents and organisers was transcribed into textual format whereafter the data were analysed using Creswell’s six-step phenomenological approach. The results indicated that, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic the cancellation of the RRDC had negative sociocultural and socioeconomic effects on the different stakeholder groups, such as the loss of a sense of belonging, loss of business opportunities and loss of opportunities to share cultural experiences. Stakeholders highlighted that COVID-19 restrictions affected the economy of KwaNongoma negatively since the festival is often attended by international and domestic tourists who contribute to improving the quality of life of the community. Furthermore, the study established the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and proposed guidelines and protocols for the organisation of safe cultural festivals in the context of the pandemic and beyond. The study recommends that organisers ensure resilience in the case of COVID-19 by encouraging communities to spread the hosting of such cultural events nationally during such crises as a means of product diversification and ensuring inclusive recovery which will contribute towards transformation in cultural tourism to secure sustainability both during and post the COVID-19 restrictions’ era. Managerial and practical implications are also highlighted.