By Amin Kef Sesay
Housemates Salone Season 2 is brought together by the Africa Young Voices (AYV) and Africell-Sierra Leone, Housemates Salone Season 2 will have twenty (20) Housemates in the House for a certain period of time, performing various tasks, displaying their talents according to instructions from the voice of an unseen person, until a time when the show reaches its climax and evictions commences until the final winner emerges to bag the prize of two hundred and fifty million Leones (Le250,000) and a round trip to Dubai. However, for each day that each participant spends in the House, he or she will earn one hundred thousand Leones (Le100, 000).
Application forms are now available for Le150, 000 and could be paid for via Afrimoney and transaction IDs will be given to access the forms.
For interested participants in Sierra Leone, the number to access their forms is 088 201020 (Afrimoney number) and a ‘fast track’ for those in the diaspora is available on line. Interested persons can apply on line through Africell and AYV websites; do their videos and send them to the judges on line. Interviews will be conducted on line.
And for the benefit for those in the diaspora who may want to participate in the show they may contact the following www.africell.sl or www.ayvnews.com.
The closing date for receipt of all applications is the 21ST August 2020, and audition will take place in the first week of September. On 21st September 2020, auditions will close and 40 finalists will be chosen who will then battle for the final 20. The final 20 will go into the House on the 14th September 2020.
It is quite apparent that there is indeed a nexus between Housemates Salone and the Tourism industry as both complements each other. The two are spotlights that could cast their powerful beam on the country making it conspicuous on the global map, vivid and very attractive to the outside world. Definitely, this exposure could open vistas of other opportunities that could boost the country’s economy. They will be conduits for youth empowerment.
As was aptly communicated by Dr. Memunatu Pratt during the official launch of Housemates Salone Season 2 on the 30th July 2020 at the prestigious Lagoonda Complex in Aberdeen, Freetown, COVID-19 has had a heavy impact on the industry. She, however, significantly highlighted that a show like Housemates Salone- Season 2 will enable the country to overcome the impact.
“Dealing with COVID and implementing tourism is challenging”, she maintained, “as such Shows demand peoples’ presence. This event will change the fortunes of the country and attract international attention. This venture is extremely laudable, as it is a heavy Private Sector investment.”
According to her, Salone Housemates 2020 is going to be historic noting that Sierra Leone’s entertainment industry has grown.
She furthered that Housemates Salone Season 2 is the first public event that will be staged under COVID-19 and will bring tourism alive reiterating how it is going to be an important event.
From the foregoing, it could be safely concluded that there is a nexus between Tourism and a Reality TV Show like Housemates Salone. Both are about showcasing the natural and human potentials or resources of the country, it is about enhancing and using local talents for the purpose of entertaining and make people (the audience and viewers) feel very happy in a relaxed atmosphere or setting. The two encompass drama, music, singing and interaction.
Housemates Salone Season 2 (2020), “The Last Standing Couple” with the theme ‘Quarantine Drama’ came at the right time to fill the void that the coronavirus created within the tourism sector.
In as much as Housemates Salone Season 2 will be broadcast live, on a twenty-four hour basis on AYV Channel 34 which is being watched internationally, then it creates the avenue to somehow showcase Sierra Leone to the outside world which has the propensity of whetting the appetites of foreigners to visit this country and have a feel of its landscape, historical landmarks and hospitality at such a time when COVID-19 would have been defeated.
The show will definitely avail viewers the opportunity to reduce all the stress brought about as a result of the marauding coronavirus.
It is quite apparent that there is indeed a nexus between Housemates Salone and the Tourism industry as both complements each other. The two are spotlights that could cast their powerful beam on the country making it conspicuous on the global map, vivid and very attractive to the outside world. Definitely, this exposure could open vistas of other opportunities that could boost the country’s economy. They will be conduits for youth empowerment.
As was succinctly summed up by the Minister of Tourism, Housemates Salone Season 2 “is the first rebranding show in Africa amidst difficult times.”
