Spring has sprung, bringing with it a burst of energy in the cultural sector. Johannesburg celebrates the seasonal change with a series of jazz concerts. Last weekend was the sell-out Joy of Jazz in Newtown. On Sunday it is the turn of the northern suburbs and the mother of all jazz concerts — Zoo Lake’s Jazz on the Lake.
Now in its 13th year, the concert forms part of the city’s R8-million Arts Alive International Festival.
Steven Sack, director of arts, culture and heritage services for the City of Johannesburg, says comparable events are staged annually at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden in Roodepoort, at Emmarentia dam, Tshwane’s Morotele Park and at Soweto’s Thokoza Park, but Jazz on the Lake ”happens on a scale that is very different to the other parks”.
The profile of the event as a quiet day at the lake is, however, contradicted by a siege of the north by uniformed and plainclothes police.
New legislation around public safety was instituted after the tragic accident in August last year when a tent collapsed at the Union Buildings on Women’s Day, permanently injuring 37-year-old Suraya Scott.
Johannesburg has now formed a joint operations committee that meets weekly to deal with safety and emergency services at special events. Jazz on the Lake undoubtedly presents one of the largest annual challenges to the services of the city.
Parkview’s normally sleepy police precinct has been turned into something of a war room. Station spokesperson Sergeant Lucky Khumela says they are ”ready for action”. Khumela says the number of uniformed police has been doubled since last year. The force will comprise undercover policing, Metro police, mounted police, police reserves and a contingent of volunteers, who have attended special workshops to prepare them for the day.
Graham Dickson, of the events management company In Touch Productions, says the police presence will involve its dog unit, helicopter support, divers (in case of drowning), Johannesburg emergency ambulance services and St John’s ambulances.
Seventy police barricades will be positioned strategically, and alcohol, drugs and ammunition will be confiscated. Buses will be available for park-and-ride at Mark’s Park near the Melville Koppies.
Dickson says 500 private security guards have been contracted from Tracker Security, a company with experience in controlling crowds at inner-city events such as Ellis Park.
The focus on musical artistry is compromised by the enormous expense of the security operations. Arts Alive International Festival coordinator Nomahlubi Semamane of Zanusi Brand Solutions says the artists only receive 40% of the overall budget; the rest goes to public safety.
But, Semamane says, the day is special, ”something that people plan for in their calendars. I don’t think anybody wants to take over anybody else’s suburb… It started when the country was still very segregated. Now we’re talking about an integrated society — so why the big deal? One day of the year.”
It is the one day of the year residents of plush Parkview have to apply to enter their own suburb — an ironic reversal of the apartheid bureaucracy of the past.
Your guide to what’s hot and what’s happening