Music. Dancing. Delicious food. Great memories. All wrapped up in one fantastic festival. If this sounds appealing to you, your friends and family, check out Zimfest Live 2024 - a bright and beautiful celebration of Zimbabwean culture - here in the UK.

Whether you’re from Zimbabwe, other countries in Africa, or you just love vibrant culture, please check out what the day holds. As proud sponsors of this joyful event, we’ve put together this article to give you all the information you need. 

What is Zimfest?

First and foremost, Zimfest Live is pure joy! From its humble beginnings, it’s become one of the biggest and most anticipated African festivals on the festival calendar. 

Zimfest started in 2001 in a field behind Wandsworth Prison in south-west London. The festival is now one of the most popular and progressive events in the UK for music, arts, and crafts.  

This unique and family-friendly event gives everyone the chance to  experience the ultimate coming together of Zimbabwe’s diverse artistic and culinary cultures, in what’s the largest celebration of Zimbabwe in the diaspora.

Best of all - it offers revellers a laid-back atmosphere in which to forget their inhibitions. It’s not to be missed. 

When and where is Zimfest?

This year Zimfest will be held on 27th and 28th July 2024 at Hertfordshire Show Grounds. The Showground is within 300 metres of the M1, Junction 9 and within a 30-minute drive of major towns and cities such as St Albans, Watford, Luton and Hemel Hempstead. London and Birmingham are also an easy commute away.

Doors will open at 1pm and the festival finishes at 10.30pm. Last entry is at 6.00pm.

How to get Zimfest tickets

You can buy your Zimfest tickets here. And you’ll find that there is a tiered ticket system that rewards you for buying your tickets early with a discount. There are 4 tiers each with an allocated number of tickets for adults only. The tiers are: 

• Adults - General Admission

• Teen & Child General Admission

• Under 5s

• VIP

Once a tier is sold out, tickets can only be sold in the subsequent tier. So book early to avoid disappointment.

And while you have Zimbabwe on your mind, why not think about sending money home to a loved one there? It’s so fast, secure, and low cost with WorldRemit. 

Zimfest Lineup

Zimfest has an excellent lineup this year - here are the very best acts: 

Winky D

What a treat to get the chance to see this amazing reggae–dancehall artist from Kambuzuma, Harare - Wallace Chirumiko - or better known by his stage name Winky D. This award-winning Zimbabwean artist is one of Zim’s finest. You may also know him as ‘Ninja President’, ‘Di Bigman’, ‘Dancehall Igwe’, or even ‘Gafa’ and ‘ChiExtraterrestial’. He seems to like an alias. But whatever name he goes by, he’ll have you moving and grooving at Zimfest

Saintfloew

Zimfest Live are lucky enough to be featuring ​​Saintfloew in their lineup this year. Saintfloew (real name Tawanda Mambo) is a hip-hop artist from Zimbabwe who’s well-known in the contemporary hip-hop scene. He has followers all over the world who love his distinct style and moving words. His  music is distinguished by his aptitude at fusing various hip-hop components to produce a tone that is both novel and classic. He’s signed to Holy Ten’s  Samanyanga Sounds music label and released a joint EP with Holy Ten titled Juta Pipo.

Sulumani Chimbetu

What a win to get Sulumani Chimbetu in the lineup this year. Son of music icon, Simon Chimbetu - Sulumani is a Zimbabwean Dendera Music vocalist, guitarist, composer, stage performer and businessman. He is the frontman for the Orchestra Dendera Kings.  He first came to the public's attention in 2004  when he joined The Orchestra Dendera Kings. Since then he has had a career marked by successful collaborations with several local artists as well as an international tour schedule.

EX-Q 

EX-Q is an Urban Grooves artist - music that was created by young urban musicians in Zimbabwe between 1999 and 2009. Urban Grooves includes genres such as Hip Hop, Soul, R&B, and Dancehall.  EX-Q rose to fame in 2000 after releasing his hit song 'Musalala'. Since then, he’s been at the forefront of the music scene with singles like 'Pandakakuona', 'Ndichakutevera', 'Mazirudo' and 'Tezvara varamba'. He has also collaborated with other Urban Grooves artists such as Roki, Tererai Mugwadi, Stunner and Extra Large. 

Enzo Ishall 

Enzo Ishall (who also refers to himself as Stallion) is a musician and Zimdancehall artist from Zimbabwe.  He’s well known and popular for his hit songs “Kanjiva”, ‘50 Magate” and “Mhamha” - all  produced by the Mbare based record label Chillspot. In September 2019 it was reported that Ishall was now working under Passion Java and that he had been bought out from his Chillspot Records contract.

Feli Nandi

Feli Nandi who’s real name is Felistus Chipendo is a musician and fashion designer from Zimbabwe. She started as a backing vocalist for Mbeu’s Mhodzi Tribe and sang with them for  two years. During her time with Mbeu, Feli recorded six singles including “Ndega Ndada” which had an accompanying video. Other singles she released include “Woman” dedicated to her mother, as well as covers of Mbeu's, such as “Hazvinei, Ndibateiwo” among others.

 Win a ticket to Zimfest Live2024

As sponsors of Zimfest Live 2024, we’re delighted to be able to offer you the chance to win a ticket to this vibrant festival - a celebration of the best of Zim culture. 

All you need to do is send money to Zimbabwe between 31st May and 30th June 2024. and your name will be entered into a prize draw to win one of 150 Zimfest Live tickets. You can send as many times as you like for more chances to win - but you can only win one ticket. 

• The competition closes on 30th June 

• The prize draw will take place on 8th July when 150 names will be drawn to win

• If you’re a lucky ticket winner - we’ll email you on 12th July to let you know. 

• Your ticket will be emailed to you by Zimfest Live’s ticket provider, Kaboodle, from 15th July.

• You can then take it and use it for free entry to the event on 27th or 28th July.

So don’t miss your chance to win. Send money home soon and not only will you enjoy quick, safe and affordable money transfers - you could find yourself dancing and singing at Zimfest Live 2024 with a free ticket. .

The contents of this blog post do not constitute legal or financial advice and are provided for general information purposes only. If you require specific legal and / or financial advice, you should contact a specialist lawyer or financial advisor. Information true at time of publishing.