When Doja Cat took the stage at Pretoria’s Move Afrika show in March, thousands of fans watched the headline set. But a new look behind the scenes shows another part of the story: 10 young South Africans got hands-on production training and worked on the build.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Youth Technical Production Pathway, delivered with Gearhouse South Africa Group and the Gearhouse Kentse Mpahlwa Academy, gave participants from Johannesburg and Pretoria experience in lighting, audio-visual systems and rigging. The group then applied those skills while helping prepare the SunBet Arena show.
From training room to live show
One of the young crew members featured in Global Citizen’s recent follow-up is Lutendo Madamela, who worked on load-in, rigging and show setup. For him, the move from classroom training to a major concert build made the work feel real.
That’s the point of a pathway like this. Live events need skilled crews, but young people often struggle to get the first opportunity that proves they can do the job. Pairing training with paid or practical production experience can help close that gap and put local talent on the path to longer-term work.
A bigger local industry
Move Afrika’s Pretoria event was delivered with local crew and equipment, according to Global Citizen. The organisation says the wider touring initiative has created more than 3,000 job opportunities across its host cities since launching in 2023. Those figures come from the organiser, but the training programme offers a concrete example of what investment in local capacity can look like.
Doja Cat’s South African roots gave the concert an extra emotional pull. Still, the lasting win may be the crew members who left with experience they can carry to the next show.
Read Global Citizen’s recent report on the youth production pathway and follow Doja Cat on Instagram.
