Nairobi — The Nairobi Street Festival is set to kick off Monday at Uhuru Park with the aim of empowering young talents and for economic growth in the city.
The event objective is to celebrate Nairobi as a creative hub while at the same time identifying and developing local talent.
Speaking to Citizen Tv. yesterday, the Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said the event is a chance for the young people, and that their showing their abilities will aid in their economic development and empowerment.
“We have been able to do this because of the amazing potential the creative economy has. When we were campaigning, we spoke about the city of order, dignity, hope and opportunities and this is part of the opportunities we want to showcase and provide for our young people,” he said.
“We have a huge creative economy and more than 100 artists came for auditions of the upcoming artists also. We are going to showcase more than 16 films and documentaries short by our young people in Nairobi, the traders will also come and show what they have and we have a whole bunch of activities that will happen in Uhuru Park.”
Sakaja emphasized that a city is more than just its streets and buildings; it also has a character and an atmosphere, as well as economic possibilities.
“I told the team that it may not be perfect but we must start from somewhere and in two to three years this is going to be a huge global festival that will attract tourism into our country and our biggest assets as Kenya is our people and we have to showcase them,” he added.
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The Governor continued by saying that in order to maintain the caliber of the parks in Nairobi, more would be done to enhance the green space in a number of county locations, including the Kamukunji grounds, the Jacaranda, the Calvary, and the Dandora stadium.
From November 28, 2022, through December 4, 2022, the festival had invited talent aspirants to submit virtual auditions. Shortlisted candidates then performed live during the event.
The grand finale will take place on 16th December, 2022 where the Winners will be awarded.
All ages were eligible to apply, and there were also special categories just for people with disabilities.
All talent entries, including those from singers, dancers, acrobats, fashion designers, models of all sizes, photographers, and other performers, were encouraged to take part
