Thousands of revellers erupted in cheers amid a confetti-filled celebration at the Expo grounds - Private Sector Foundation (PSF) - to welcome the New Year.
Thousands of revellers erupted in cheers amid a confetti-filled celebration at the Expo grounds - Private Sector Foundation (PSF) - to welcome the New Year.
New Year’s Eve fell on a Saturday, and the only thing that could make things sweeter was parting and keeping things musical. There were several venues to shake into the 2012, with line-ups of great artistes.
A heavy downpour had threatened to dampen the celebrations in Kigali, but it did not deter the festive mood.
"I hope 2012 will be a year full of smiles. For those who are crying now, I hope they’ll be smiling too,” 28-year-old Sylvia Umutoni, said.
Several among other places to celebrate, was The Indian Chef Restaurant, in Kacyiru where the party started as early as 7pm. Here, the young and old partygoers packed the restaurant and greeted the New Year with a sumptuous dinner.
There were also great surprises to wrap-up the party and in house music as well as a well lit bonfire to warm revellers into the New Year.
The show at Gikondo PSF Expo grounds was well attended. Thousands of revellers turned up to wind up the year with a musical treat.
The main act, Nigerian latest sensation Mr. Flavour did put up a good performance. He was, however, limited by the few songs he has to his name. Shortly after performing a gospel song, Mr. Flavour did his latest hit "Adamma”, which has received massive airplay on MTV Base and asked the crowd if they knew a thing or two about Nigerian music.
When the answer from the crowd was affirmative, Mr. Flavour went through some P. Square songs before belting out his popular "Ashawo” track. He performed the track twice and the crowd clearly loved it.
The toned Nigerian artiste often jumped off the stage into the crowd but security would be quick to secure him back. At the end of his performance, Mr. Flavour parted with some of his prized accessories to the crowd, including a white designer belt which saw fans scampering for a share.
Kenyan-based Burundian star Kidum and his back up dancers stole the show. Kidum knows how to give an energetic performance, sometimes interchanging with the drummers to show his skill on the drums.
The singer sang almost all his songs in a performance of over one hour, capping it up with "Kipenda Roho”, which he performed with Frankie Joe, who put up a spirited performance as well.
"I love Kidum, he has a great voice and knows how to pull the crowd,” an ecstatic Alex Mugisha said.
Canada-based Rwandan artiste Dady Cassanova put up a great performance and did not disappoint his fans. Local artistes such as Jay Polly, Kitoko, Riderman and Knowles and Dream Boyz, rocked the night.
The sound was good but there seemed to be no control of the show by the MCs, as some artistes took long on stage without anyone interrupting them, sometimes boring music fans.
The party ended in the wee hours of the morning and the security was tight to ensure that the party does not go out of hand.