A long queue of vehicles snakes all the way down, making a turn to the army’s campsite with some occupying the other side close to Keza Building in Blantyre.
Inside the once mighty entertainment mecca, there are also more cars whereas the seats in the Amphitheatre are full to capacity, with theatre fans set to watch a performance by Malian musician Salif Keita.
Such were the moments at French Cultural Centre which used to hold both local and international acts since it was officially opened by the country’s first President Hastings Kamuzu Banda in the 1960s.
For years, the venue opened up to creatives from theatre to poetry to music to visual art, film and French lessons.
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In its hay days, BCC was vibrant and hosted both local and international performances including Zimbabwe’s Oliver Mtukudzi, South Africa’s Rebecca Malope, Jamaica’s Mutabaruka and Ivory Coast’s Dobet Gnahore.
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That was until 2011 when the French government decided to move out before the government bought it at K300 million and renamed it Blantyre Cultural Centre (BCC).
But the entertainment mecca got ransacked the same year and it has remained in a wretched state since then.
Artists have lobbied the government to rehabilitate BCC to improve infrastructure challenges in the creative sector but there has been slow movement with no more than official visits made by ministers and other government officials and assurances of fast process for reopening made.
This is now 2025 and drawing closer to 2026. It is now 14 years but BCC is not yet open.
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Venues for staging performances in the country have been a challenge for the creative sector with a few being able to accommodate all the art forms.
BCC remains one of the top entertainment meccas in the country accommodating all arty disciplines and its closure has not done justice to the creative sector.
In 2023, the then Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture Richard Chimwendo Banda visited BCC where he ordered the contractor – Opco Limited – to finish the works but nothing changed.
“We are not sleeping over the issue of BCC rehabilitation. We know things have delayed but there is progress since the contractor is now on the ground,” Chimwendo Banda said.
In 2024, Vice President Michael Usi also visited BCC, a familiar dome that shaped his creative career, where he bemoaned the delays in its restoration.
Usi, popularly known as Manganya in the comedy circles, called on relevant authorities to get their act together and complete renovations soonest with Director of Buildings Sam Ngoma assuring him that by October 2024, the works would be finalised.
But the renovations never finished.
Before the MCP regime, other ministers also made visits to BCC and includes Moses Kunkuyu during the Joyce Banda led administration but the script remained the same.
With the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) back in power, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Patricia Wiskes decided to tour projects and on her itinerary, she did not skip BCC.
During her visit to the centre, Wiskes looked concerned with the state of the venue and at the end of the tour, she tried to find out from the contractor as to when BCC, particularly the amphitheatre, would be operational.
The response was: there was still more work to be done which would take two to three months.
“There are gaps in the creative sector that we need to address including funding. We have lots of work that needs to be done and I am sure, we will try as much as possible to fasten the process of opening BCC. Creatives need this venue,” Wiskes said.
The minister spoke with assurance and commitment, the same way her predecessors had done and so creatives can only hope that this time, BCC will reopen.
Director of Arts Humphrey Mpondaminga said delays have come about due to changes that have come up including revision of the design for the amphitheatre.
“We are equally worried as a department that the rehabilitation is taking long, we have been pushing for documents but procedures have to be followed and we cannot sidestep the process,” Mpondaminga said.
He added that there were instructions to revisit the design of the amphitheatre to improve capacity so as to have a well-designed structure that matches international standards.
“In summary, we have had to wait for proper documentation because costs have now and again been adjusted but now everything is set, the contractor is on the ground working, we hope to finish the ampitheatre and then look at other areas and bring back BCC to life,” Mpondaminga said.
He added: “The current rehabilitation is that of the ampitheatre. The extension for the theatre and other remaining works are being handled separately.”
A taskforce was formed initiated by some artists with the aim of lobbying for the reopening of the centre as soon as possible.
“Several visits have been made to the centre with orders and ultimatums but nothing has been implemented. As a country, we need to change this narrative of just talking without any implementation, what we want as artists now is for the centre to open,” one of the artists, who is in the taskforce, MacArthur Matukuta said.
The script, however, still remains the same that BCC is still closed and in a pathetic state with the creative industry still lobbying the authorities to look into the venue’s rehabilitation with urgency.
