Lake of Stars Festival


Lake of Stars Festival is an annual three-day international festival held on the shores of Lake Malawi, the third largest lake in Africa. The first festival took place in 2004 and attracts over 4,000 attendees with musical acts drawn mainly from Africa and Europe.
WWW lakeofstars.org

History

The festival was founded by British tourist Will Jameson. Jameson visited Malawi in 1998. He was a student at John Moores University and took a year off to work with The Wildlife Society. That work sent him to Malawi. Upon returning to college, Jameson started night club as tribute to his trip, called Chibuku Shake Shake, the name of a brand of Malawian beer. The club night was named the best club night in the United Kingdom 2004 by Mixmag. That same year, Jameson held the first festival. An estimated 700 people attended, the majority from Africa. The 2011 Lake of Stars attracted over 3,000 attendees from Europe and Africa. The festival was opened with the Malawian ministry of tourism skydiving onto the festival beach.
The festival has inspired many other activities in film and festival production, produced by a Malawian lead team, Dusty Orange Projects Et Al,.

Media and accolades

Lake of Stars Festival is widely referenced as being one of the most important festivals on the African continent. In 2014, it was named one of the top seven African music festivals to attend by CNN. Time Out named Lake of Stars as having the most beautiful festival location in the world, in 2015. The UK's Independent newspaper has said "the life-affirming Lake of Stars offers a fascinating opportunity to experience the musical pulse of this inspiring country". In 2016, Vice Magazine recognised that "the ability of this festival to inspire the young people who attend is pretty special"

Festival management

The Lake of Stars Festival is organised by a mixture of international volunteers, many of them with huge amounts of experience in the live events industry, supporting a team in Malawi. The festival receives pro-bono support from the UK music industry, with the UK headliners that travel to Malawi usually agreeing to waive their normal performance fees. An estimated over $1 million in 2011 was generated by the festival for the local economy. In 2024 the British High Commissioner Fiona Ritchie arranged for sponsorship from the UK Government. The UK would cover some travelling expenses from the UK and fund a parallel event in Malawian secondary schools. Ritchie supported the event because of its contribution to "peace and unity".

Activities

The festival organizes volunteer opportunities for festival attendees, providing service to a variety of charities sponsored by the festival including the Microloan Foundation. Attendees also visit orphanages to spend time with children and play games and sports with them. The festival also includes talks, similar to TED talks,
theatre, dance and mixed martial arts.

Performers

A wide swath of international performers play at Lake of Stars, many from Africa, Europe and the United Kingdom. These artists include, but are not limited to:

Locations/Venues

YearLocationVenue
2024NkhotakotaFish Eagle Bay Lodge
2019Nkhata BayKachere Kastle
2018Leopard Bay, Lifuwa SalimaKabumba Hotel.
2017Chintheche, Nkhata BayChintheche Inn
2016Chintheche, Nkhata BayChintheche Inn
2015MangochiSunbird Nkopola Lodge
2014MangochiSunbird Nkopola Lodge
2013Lilongwe Woodlands Hotel
2012XX
2011XX
2010XX
2009MangochiSunbird Nkopola Lodge
2008Senga BaySunbird Livingstonia Lodge
2007ChinthecheChintheche Inn
2006ChinthecheChintheche Inn
2005ChinthecheChintheche Inn
2004ChinthecheChinteche Inn
2003XX

Other Events

Dusty Orange Projects Et Al, producers of the Lake of Stars Malawi Arts Festival organise other events in Malawi in addition to the flagship festival, including Set It Off, Day of Ideas, Children's Future Festival and film festivals.