Stromae's highly-anticipated 'homecoming' concerts postponed

18 Jun 2015 - 12:35

The much anticipated series of concerts by Belgo-Rwandese singer Paul van Haver, better known by his stage-name Stromae, have been postponed after the singer was taken ill. Stromae, who would have staged his first show in Kigali, Rwanda on June 20 was taken ill last week in the middle of his African tour and he had to be flown back to Europe for medical attention on the advice of his doctors.

Belgo-Rwandese singer Stromae.

Stromae’s production firm, Auguri Production and Mosaert, put out a press release on Sunday just before a concert in Kinshasa indicating nine of his scheduled concerts had been put on hold until August 2.

Although he was born and raised in Brussels, Belgium largely by his Belgian mother, Stromae’s Kigali concert had been hugely anticipated because his father was Rwandese. According to Kigali newspaper The New Times, the 'Papaouatai' star had earlier expressed excitement and anxiety over performing in the Rwandan capital, noting that he could not wait for his ‘homecoming’ concert.

Positive Production’s Judo Kanobana, among the partners who had been organizing the tour, told The New Times that new dates will be announced later. “It is true the show will not take place as scheduled due to the unfortunate illness that hit Stromae. Doctors recommended that he cancels all concerts to focus on treatment,” said Kanobana. “All partners involved will hold a press conference tomorrow to announce the way forward. One thing for sure is that he will come. Those who have already bought tickets can keep them, but those who want a refund will be refunded.”

Other than the Kinshasa and Kigali concerts, Stromae had also been scheduled to perform in London, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Canada and the US. All these have been postponed. Before he was taken ill, he had however staged succesful shows in Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Gabon.

Stromae’s Rwandese father, an architect by profession and who was largely absent from his son’s life, was killed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Although his mother raised him and his four siblings in Brussels, Stromae always felt like an ‘outsider’ in Belgium due to his dual identity. Stromae came to wide public attention with his 2010 song ‘Alors on danse’, which became a number one hit in several European countries. In 2013 his sophomore album Racine Carrée was a huge commercial success. He has since established himself in both hip-hop and electronic genres.