By JOY HINYIKIWILE
The first day of the National Arts Festival (NAF) got off to a rocky start when Festival-goers struggled to buy tickets or get their tickets recognised by scanners at venues. Cue staff members were alerted to the challenges. “I was told my ticket doesn’t look legitimate,” one audience member said. Others explained they never received tickets despite paying for them online.
NAF CEO Monica Newton said her team was unaware of scanner issues at venues but hoped people who showed proof of ticket purchase were allowed in regardless of whether scanners could read the tickets. She promised to look into the matter.
Ticket purchasing was another challenge reported. The Monument Box Office experienced some technical difficulties but eventually was functioning smoothly on day one. However, the satellite box offices at the Rhodes Theatre and Village Green were not operational at the start of the Festival.
Newton said that connectivity issues and load-shedding were behind challenges experienced with ticket purchasing.
“Nobody should worry too much. Obviously, that was our first day, and a lot was going on, but our technical team is aware of it, and we are on top of the matter,” said Newton.
