Harare — THIS year's Travel Expo Africa Tourism Night Concert that features two South African groups will be held on Saturday at Harare International Conference Centre.

The concert, part of the annual Travel Expo that opens tomorrow, features Bongo Maffin and Mafikizolo from South Africa, Vee from Botswana and Extra Musica from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Tongai Moyo and the Zimbabwe Cultural Ensemble will represent Zimbabwe.

The chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, Mr Karikoga Kaseke, said the concert was a carryover from their Big Five concept which they initiated last year in celebration of Africa's most popular wildlife species -- the lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and the leopard.

Last year the Big Five Concert featured Bongo Maffin, Mafikizolo and Oliver Mtukudzi among three other groups.

Mr Kaseke said the major thrust of the concert was to showcase Zimbabwe's tourism products to the whole world through entertainment.

"Tourism and entertainment are a softer way of showing what defines us as a nation with much thrust on the fighting mood. We want to show the world that Zimbabwe will lie down when being attacked and this we during the Africa Night Tourism Concert," said Mr Kaseke.

Mr Kaseke said the purpose of the concert was not about entertainment for entertainment's sake but entertainment with a purpose.

He noted that the main aim of bringing Extra Musica was to use the group as a true ambassador of Zimbabwe based on their experiences here.

"Congo Brazzaville is a very important market which we are trying to penetrate through the group. We are going to take them as our stepping stone into Congo-Brazzaville and France," he said.

His words were echoed by Zimbabwe Tourism Authority's marketing and communications director Mr Givemore Chidzidzi, who noted that music was one way that unified Zimbabwe, South Africa and Congo-Brazzaville.

"Different cultures in the world are espoused through music and dance, but the show is not all about music but tourism and culture," he said.

He said Tongai Moyo, whose latest album "Pinda Panyanga" is riding high on the charts, would play in three segments -- cultural music, foreign music and local.

A segment featuring the cream of Zimbabwe's urban groovers starts at 6pm.