Abtex on December 31 Losses: “Ugandans Now Opt for Church Over Concerts”

Ugandan events promoter Abbey Musinguzi, popularly known as Abtex, says the way Ugandans usher in the new year has completely changed, and promoters need to wake up to the new reality.

For years, December 31 was prime time for concerts, parties, and packed venues as revelers counted down into January 1.

But according to Abtex, those days are fading fast.

Reflecting on December 31, 2025, crossing into January 1, 2026, the promoter revealed that Ugandans are now choosing prayer over partying, with church crossovers and overnight services taking center stage.

Abtex, who organized the “Party After Party” end-of-year concert at Lugogo Cricket Oval, admitted that the event did not make a profit due to low turnout.

And it was not an isolated case.

In his observation, no promoter who staged an event on December 31 made money, as crowds opted to spend the night in prayer rather than at concerts.

Learning never ends, and things change from time to time. People change according to the situation at hand. Now, as I speak, Ugandans have shifted priorities for Decemebr 31. They gave that day to God and spend it praising and worshipping. No one should deceive you that they made any profits on December 31. We only made losses, and on my side, Cricket Oval only left me with life.

With that hard lesson learned, Abtex is now advising fellow promoters to stop organizing big events on December 31 altogether.

Instead, he believes the smarter move is to focus on other dates that still pull crowds, such as Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and January 1.

No one should lie that they made profits on December 31. That is a lesson we have learned and understood. Moving forward, we shall do Christmas, not stadiums but gardens and halls. On Boxing Day, people step out and go out… and on the 1st of January. But December 31, people changed. They pray from morning to morning.

Abtex also revealed that he was only able to survive the December 31 losses because he had enjoyed a good year financially. Otherwise, things could have turned ugly.

I was at Cricket Oval, and luckily, I had a good year, so the money to pay musicians was there. But if it was about relying on gate collections, I would be trending on social media…

Despite the tough night on December 31, Abtex noted that January 1 performed very well, further proving his point.