Over the weekend, Lagos state hosted American DJ, Diplo, who was billed as headliner for this year’s edition of Gidifest alongside Nigerian acts Davido, Tiwa Savage, Simi,. Adekunle Gold and others. Gidi Fest 2017 is the music festival’s third edition since the first concert held at Eko Atlantic nearly three years ago. But while following and publicity have grown for the festival, attendance is still at an abysmal low by music festival standards.

Agreed, event promoters and production engineers will tell you Nigeria is not the most risk averse place for live concerts. Between the cost of venue and the logistics for machinery that will run on gas powered generators, production costs are bound to come to ridiculous estimates, even worse, when cross-referenced with expected revenue. This perhaps, is why Gidifest’s persistence is noteworthy, considering the handful of events with the same intent that were either catatonic failures or recorded too much of a loss to return for subsequent editions. The biggest flaw Gidifest organisers have failed to rectify over the years however is the restriction of the festival’s location to the Lagos Island.

The Lagos island may be a centre for Nigerian high-brow arts and culture, but it is not a truly representative location for an event tagged with Lagos’s pseudonym. This can be reflected in the consistency of moderate attendance despite the organisers’ obvious attempts to make each edition of the festival bigger than the last. In the future, organisers of music festivals need to look beyond the mega-city potentials of the Lagos Island for central locations on the mainland. The increased access of music fans who are usually alienated from Island events will allow organisers offer fairer ticket prices with the eventual reward of increased attendance and cultural value. One only really needs to take a look at the annual Felabration music festival held yearly in Ikeja, Lagos to understand why this is important for the survival of music festivals.

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