Tanzania to build a $172 million indoor music arena in Dar

The initiative responds to longstanding appeals from Tanzanian artists and entertainers, led by Bongo star Diamond Platnumz, who have been vocal about the need for such a facility, highlighting challenges faced during events like the recent Trace Music Summit in Zanzibar, where inadequate infrastructure led to stage malfunctions.

The project also includes plans for a film village to promote Tanzania's arts and culture sectors.

The arena will feature a seating capacity of 15,000, at least 5,000 more capacity than Kigali's BK Arena, filling a significant gap in Tanzania's ability to host major entertainment and sports events.

Tanzanian government spokesman George Msigwa, who is also the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information, Arts and Culture, said this week that the government had acquired funds to build the venue.

Mr Msigwa says the $172 million funding for the arena is part of a $2.5 billion soft loan obtained during President Samia's visit to South Korea.

"This matter has been giving the President a lot of sleepless nights because for a very long time we didn't have the funds and every time we tried to access funds to build an arena, our plans would hit a dead end,” Msigwa said on Wednesday.

“Finally, we got the funds. The President went to South Korea and secured a soft loan of $2.5 billion. Out of this, the President has decided that Sh450 billion ($172 million) will be used first to build the arena and secondly, once the arena is built, we will build a film village. We now have the funds and once the paperwork is done in time, the construction of the arena will start in Kawe, Dar es Salaam.”

Mr Msigwa said he understood Diamond's frustration on the issue, in a country where there are fairly suitable stadia for football but no apt venue to stage a ground-shaking music performance.

Diamond had sparked a wider debate in the East African region, where there is a general dearth of modern concert arenas.

At the recent Trace Music Summit and Awards held in Zanzibar last month, the concert stage kept crumbling, which Diamond says embarrassed the host country in the eyes of the high profile guests who graced the event.

They included top international music executives, presidents of some of the world's biggest music record labels, international music producers and other music stakeholders.

“For years, musicians and I being at the forefront, have been begging the government to build us a (concert) arena and I will continue to do so.

“Trace had a hard time putting up the concert stage in Zanzibar, the set up kept crumbling down, it was really embarrassing to see especially considering the kind of high profile guests we were hosting for the event,” Diamond vented after the conclusion of the summit last month.

"The government needs to save us from such embarrassments in the future by building us an arena. But with such an arena, we will also be able to strengthen our tourism and arts sectors.

“The government has done enough by building soccer stadiums in every province, all we're asking for as musicians is a concert arena, that's not too much to ask. With an arena, it will be an ideal venue for conferences and summits, a place to play netball and basketball, and a concert platform that will also generate money for the government."

BK Arena

It is not only in Tanzania that artistes have expressed similar frustrations. The same debate has been raging in Kenya, with actor and screenwriter Abel Mutua leading the charge in pushing the government to build a concert arena similar to the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, which has hosted a beehive of international stars, most recently American songwriter and singer John Legend.

Last year, "Not Like Us" hitmaker and rapper Kendrick Lamar, who made history with his Super Bowl 2025 performance, also delivered a one-of-a-kind performance at the BK Arena in Kigali. The venue also hosted another American star, singer Ne-Yo.

Built in 2019, the BK Arena is currently the largest fully covered modern indoor arena in East Africa, with a seating capacity of 10,000. It is managed by a South African company, QA Venue Solutions, which has invested $2.5 million (Sh322 million) in upgrading the facility to make it a state-of-the-art.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, proper indoor arenas will save us all a lot of headaches. Indoor arenas are the next big thing, especially now that the Orange economy is booming. They are easier to secure, they are weatherproof and they make good business sense. Kigali can attest to that. How can the giant of East Africa not have a 20,000-seat indoor arena?" lamented Mutua.

Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper recently reported that American RnB sensation Chris Brown turned down an opportunity to perform in Nairobi in a concert headlined by Afrobeats star Burna Boy because of the lack of infrastructure.

In an interview with Joy Wachira, the Managing Director of Madfun, the company that organised the Burna Boy concert at Uhuru Gardens last Saturday, she revealed that they first approached Chris Brown before turning to Burna after the American turned down their offer.

Wachira noted that Brown turned down the opportunity to perform in Kenya because the country lacked the proper infrastructure to support the kind of show he has been used to in recent years.

"When Chris Brown rejected us for those reasons, he was right. Look at what he did in South Africa recently and the same thing in the US. He wants to come on stage and fly from one point of the arena to the other. Most of his recent performances have been like that wherever he has performed. Tell me where in Kenya is he going to do this?

"We don't have a modern indoor arena or venue in Kenya to support such modern live performance productions and then we wonder why these A-listers choose Rwanda or South Africa in Africa. It's because they have invested in that infrastructure and that's what our governments need to do.

"Stakeholders need to realise that events are big business that pumps millions of shillings into the economy," Wachira said.

Chris Brown's recent concert in South Africa in December 2024, was held at the 94,736-seater FNB Stadium. Many international artists have performed at the stadium, including U2, Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Linkin Park, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rihanna.