by Thinus Ferreira
We will never know - and it's not for a lack of trying.
The one story about the 2024 Earthshot Prize Week with Prince William in Cape Town that wasn't and couldn't be reported, was how the actual awards show was planned, what went into it, the details of putting the broadcast together and how it would be executed.
Long before the 2024 Earthshot Prize Week happened in Cape Town last week, I asked the various PR people involved for an interview with Robert Irwin (son of Steve Irwin).
I was also asked and said yes to and agreed - when offered - to do a story from speaking to someone involved with putting the actual awards show together.
After that, I asked multiple, multiple times in the period leading up to 2024 Earthshot Prize Week and 2024 Earthshot Prize Awards, and during it: On email, in person and on Whatsapp - always having to initiate, always having to follow up and having to ask (yet again) from my side.
Between MultiChoice corporate communications, the WritersBloc and Total Exposure PR agencies all working on the 2024 Earthshot Prize Week and the awards show - nothing came from the request to do an interview with Robert Irwin that could run when 2024 Earthshot Prize Week began last Monday.
There was no explanation as to why.
Likewise, nothing happened around the story that was offered to me to do - about the actual awards show.
It's an article that would have been great as a lead-in on Wednesday morning to Wednesday evening's award show televised on DStv and streamed on YouTube, and it would have been a great and informative piece and something to report on, instead of having to report that the people who offered it couldn't fulfill on a promise and expectation.
As absolutely great as the organising and running of the green carpet of the 2024 Earthshot Prize Awards was, so inexplicable is it that MultiChoice as media partner and the PR agencies working for it, failed to realise two basic interviews - especially one about the planning and broadcasting of the actual awards show.
On Monday last week I got a "Our apologies for the delayed response to your media
interview query" email.
On Tuesday last week I asked MultiChoice and WritersBloc again for a final time, and was told Robert Irwin is now "unfortunately unavailable for today for interview" (duh) and that the PR company again "reached out with the production company" and "we will keep you posted regarding that".
I didn't ask again, and none of the PRs followed up out of their own from their side again or gave any further update.
Once the green carpet happened, I managed to get hold of Robert Irwin for a quick few minutes, but it's not a proper interview, not what I had in mind to do, and of course not sufficient to craft any actual print article from in the way that was envisioned and proposed.
Imtiaz Patel, former MultiChoice chairperson, on the exceptionally well-done green carpet, explained how he lobbied to get the 2024 Earthshot Prize Awards to take place in South Africa and that four African countries were initially on the list to host.
Cape Town snagged the honour and it took 14 months to plan and organise the 2024 Earthshot Prize Awards, after it took place in Singapore last year.
South Africa won't host The Earthshot Prize Awards again in a long time, since - like something like the Olympic Games - it cycles from country to country around the world.
When will South Africa (ever) again be able to talk about how it went about, and what went into, creating, setting up and broadcasting the 2024 Earthshot Prize Awards from a technical broadcasting perspective?
Quite sadly, it's a golden opportunity lost.
The 2024 Earthshot Prize Awards was done by Albert Certified Production from inside the specially built dome next to the Cape Town Stadium with hosts Bonang Matheba and Billy Porter.
A really delightful surprise was the illuminated wristbands for the 2000 guests by Pixmob that flashed and changed colour in "tune" with the on-stage music and performances.
Other than that, nobody knows anything about what went into the broadcast and planning of the actual awards show. And we likely never will.
SuperSport was responsible for the outside broadcast, with Mmatshepo Sekabate as event manager, Nkosana Kunene as unite technical manager, Darren Hayward as stage director, Michael Schneider as television director, Philisa Bidi as head of production, Anton Cloete as executive creative director, and with Julia Knowles and Glenn van Loggerenberg as co-executive producers for the Earthshot Prize.
Sadly, none of these people were available for even five minutes to do any interview beforehand on what the 2024 EarthShot Prize Awards accomplished and had in store for viewers.
We will never know what it took to put it in place on the grassy field in Cape Town, the technical aspects around it, the wow-factor it was going to try and deliver, or about any of the challenges, surprises and firsts of doing this awards show for the first time from South Africa and Cape Town.
