Hipnotik Festival tickets are now on sale
The highly anticipated Hipnotik Festival is set to electrify Eswatini once again on October 4, 2025, marking a significant return after a seven-year hiatus.
Since its inception in 2012 by Sakhile Nkambule and hosted by Swazi Jive, Hipnotik has grown to become the country’s biggest local hip hop festival, a vibrant celebration of youth culture, music, and entrepreneurship.
Tickets are now on sale, with general admission priced at E400, VIP access at E800, and exclusive Golden Circle tickets available for E1,500.
Hipnotik’s revival is more than just a musical event; it is a strategic initiative aimed at revitalising Eswatini’s creative economy and empowering the nation’s youth. In an exclusive interview, festival director and founder Sakhile Nkambule shared his vision for the event’s comeback.
“We’re incredibly excited. The return of Hipnotik isn’t just nostalgic, it’s strategic,” Nkambule stated. He highlighted the festival’s role as a critical platform for local creatives, entrepreneurs, and service providers, describing it as “a proven youth-led economic vehicle” that extends far beyond entertainment.
The festival’s seven-year pause allowed the organisers to reflect deeply on the needs of the creative community and the broader market.
Nkambule noted the detrimental impact Hipnotik’s absence had on the local entertainment ecosystem and expressed a strong commitment to restoring and elevating that cultural pulse.
“We’ve seen what the absence of Hipnotik did to the local entertainment ecosystem. Now, we’re here to restore that pulse and take it further,” he said. While the festival promises a fun and immersive experience, Nkambule emphasised that empowerment is the ultimate product: “It’s business time now, fun is the by-product, but empowerment is the product.”
Hipnotik was founded on the belief that Eswatini’s youth possess exceptional talent and ambition but lack the necessary platforms, business acumen, and networks to thrive.
“Talent alone is insufficient; it requires platforms, business knowledge, networks, and brand equity. Hipnotik is that convergence point,” Nkambule explained. The festival aims to demonstrate that creative industries can be structured, monetised, and scaled to generate sustainable economic growth.
Looking ahead, Nkambule envisions Hipnotik as a premier youth development platform anchored in entertainment. He described the festival as a catalyst for job creation, SME development, digital storytelling, and brand partnerships.
“This event is a catalyst for job creation, for SME development, for digital storytelling, for brand partnerships,” he said. The festival will serve as a testbed for innovative creative business models that foster sustainable collaborations with the private sector and deliver measurable economic impact for young people.
