Bell Lager has backed a major live music event in Gulu City with its name and money. The beer brand is lead premium sponsor of Congolese music star Koffi Olomide's concert on Friday, October 9, 2026, at the Northern Pearl Hotel Garden along Gulu-Kitgum Road. Open Mic Uganda is organising the show.
It's a private-sector bet on a northern audience. No ministry is paying the bill.
The Event
The concert forms part of Obafest, Bell Lager's beer festival platform, bringing together music, food and entertainment. This edition takes the festival experience to Northern Uganda, with Olomide at the top of a programme featuring Ugandan performers.
Olomide is regarded as a prominent figure in Congolese rumba and soukous. His catalogue includes "Loi," "Effrakata," "Papa Bonheur," "Tcha Tcho" and "Selfie." Organisers said audiences will see him perform some of his best-known songs with musicians and dancers.
Gates open at 2 p.m. Friday. The programme is set to run until 4 a.m. Saturday, October 10. That's a long night, and a long commercial runway for the sponsor and organiser.
Ugandan artists joining Olomide on stage include dancehall singer Cindy, Eezzy, Batman, Jelly G and Lucky David. Comedian Patrick Salvado will host.
The Business Case
The timing isn't accidental. The concert falls during Uganda's Independence Day holiday weekend, and organisers expect it to draw people from Gulu and neighbouring districts, along with visitors travelling to Northern Uganda for the holiday.
Lilian Kansiime, Brand Manager for Bell Lager, described the sponsorship as part of the brand's support for music and cultural events across the country. "As Uganda's very own beer, Bell Lager celebrates culture, social connection and the arts. Bell Obafest is a celebration of how Ugandans come together to enjoy music, beer and food," she said.
She said taking the event to Gulu gives northern audiences a chance to join in. "By bringing the experience to Gulu in partnership with the Koffi Olomide concert, we are giving consumers in Gulu an opportunity to be part of that celebration," Kansiime said.
The word "consumers" is doing real work in that sentence. A brand sees a market and arrives with a product, a headliner and a party.
Beyond Kampala
Kansiime said the partnership reflects Bell Lager's continued support for live music and the creative arts. "The partnership for the Koffi Olomide concert in Gulu reflects our commitment to bringing premium music experiences to consumers. We are proud to support Open Mic Uganda in delivering an international performance of this scale alongside the Ugandan artists who will share the stage," she said.
The concert joins a growing number of major music events staged outside Kampala, giving audiences elsewhere in the country access to international and local performers. Promoters and sponsors are finding demand in places the capital-centred circuit has long overlooked, and they're doing so on commercial terms.
Why This Matters:
This is how a cultural economy grows when it's left to work. A brand sees a customer base in Gulu, an organiser sees ticket buyers, and an international headliner gets a new stage. Nobody needed a subsidy or government programme to make it happen. In a region often discussed mainly in terms of aid and public spending, private sponsorship of a high-profile event signals confidence in local spending power. It also creates work for performers, dancers, musicians and the local businesses serving a crowd from early afternoon until 4 a.m. If more events follow this model outside Kampala, the benefits spread through ordinary commerce rather than state direction. That's a durable way to build regional opportunity, and it's one worth watching.