Green Stars Shine Bright at the 2025 Chibuku Neshamwari Finals

Green Stars - 1st Prize Winner

The Green Stars from Harare finally struck gold at the 2025 Chibuku Neshamwari Traditional Dance Festival, walking away as the ultimate winners during the grand finale held on Saturday at the Mutare Showgrounds.

Chibuku Neshamwari is Zimbabwe’s beloved traditional dance festival, where dance groups from across the country gather to celebrate and preserve our rich cultural heritage. This year’s competition ran under the theme “Ngoma Ngairire Shamwari”—a call to keep the drums beating among friends.

Ten provincial champions made it to the national finals, but it was The Green Stars who stole the show. “I’m glad we made it at last,” said the group’s dance director, Alexis Makaza. “It’s our third time in this competition. We were honestly at the edge of giving up—this was going to be our last try. But this year was our year.”

Makaza added that the group’s passion for culture continues to open doors. With their $15,000 prize, they plan to invest in something tangible and start a group project that will generate income for their members.

Goromonzi Arts from Murehwa came in second, receiving $10,000, while Manicaland’s Semvumba secured third place with $7,500. This year’s Chibuku competitions commenced on 10 May, and all 10 provincial winners made it to this day

The finals attracted a massive crowd, with the Mutare Showgrounds packed to capacity. Delta Corporation, the Chibuku Neshamwari proud sponsors, congratulated the winners and acknowledged the consumers for being supportive.   Alick Macheso, one of the big artists who performed on the day, also acknowledged full attendance of the event, speaking to the media, he said, I enjoy when people show up in numbers and he promised to make it up for the fans.

Sponsored by Delta Corporation in partnership with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe National Traditional Dance Association, the event has helped revive endangered dance styles and uplift rural artists through exposure and financial support.

As Multimedia, we made sure the event received maximum coverage and publicity. Our team specializes in media buying, PR, and marketing—proud to play our part in promoting Zimbabwean arts and culture.