It’s prom night in Uganda baby!
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Hey, hey, welcome back to What's in the World from the BBC World Service. I'm Hannah Gelbart. In this episode, we're going back to high school and it is the most important night of the year. It's prom night. Now, I didn't get to have a school prom, but I have seen so many in those American teen movies that it feels like I've been to loads of them. And you know the drill. There is the build-up during the year, promposals, girls picking out the perfect dress, couples pulling up in limousines, and then all that awkward dancing under the fairy lights.

But prom isn't just an American tradition anymore. Around the world, it has become a major event. And in Uganda, this year's prom season has gone next level.

They roll out red carpets, arrive in luxury cars or even helicopters. And then the girls do outfit changes throughout the night. And not everyone is impressed by this. Some parents and now the government are saying that prom culture has gone too far. This is YouTube comedian Uncle Mo. We have a prom problem in the country, colleagues. Each year it is getting more hectic.

They have a DJ, a band, a lineup of celebrity artists on top of arriving in choppers. It's become so big and so lavish that the Ministry of Education has even brought in new rules to ban what it's calling extravagant spending and moral indiscipline in Uganda's schools. And today on the podcast, what are these new rules? What do they mean for students? And how did prom become such a big thing in the first place?

Let's find out more about this now from Gloria Acheng, our reporter across the border from Uganda in Nairobi, Kenya. Hi, Gloria. Hi, how are you? Good, thank you. You cover trends in the region and you've been watching some of these extravagant prom videos in Uganda. What do you make of them? So they've

Last time somebody sent me this video on TikTok and I saw it and I was asking them, like, is this a high school student? Are these high school students? They're so extravagant. They have like these luxury cars and some were even coming in choppers. And I keep asking myself, like, where do the parents get money? Who are these parents? You know, because it's just...

Too crazy for me, honestly, for high school students to be having such extravagant parties. So what happens on prom night in Uganda? And what about the build-up in the months before? Months before, people start looking for outfits and outfit insports. People start looking for places where they'll hire the car.

And of course, when it comes to the D-Day, most of the people that you see going to these proms, you'll see them arriving in these luxury cars and they arrive in, you know, like a couple. They're walking together on a red carpet. And of course, the one that was really shocking is the one who appeared in a chopper, I would

I would say they feel like adult parties. Gloria, I've got a voice note here from someone who is a host at proms in Uganda, talking about what they're like. My name is MC Olo. As an MC, I've been blessed to host proms in over 500 schools across Uganda, and each one of them is a unique experience.

Some of the most common activities and traditions include the red carpet walk. This is where students really express themselves through fashion and confidence. Also crowning the prom queen and king, it's a moment that highlights their leadership style.

and school popularity. You know, we also have some dance battles and competition. Those are, you know, like crowd favourite. Students love to show off their moves. You know, we have live performances and DJs. They do sound quite grown up and also very expensive. What kind of money are we talking? So I was actually just looking at hiring a chopper. As you do. Me too. Yeah, I have.

I would expect somebody to hire a chopper when they're doing something like an engagement or maybe a wedding. But I wouldn't expect somebody hiring a chopper for prom. So I'm thinking something around $2,000 for an hour or two. This is a lot of money. And of course, it would be paid for by the parents. Presumably that would cover the entrance ticket, the mode of transport, whether you turn up in a Ferrari or a helicopter. They do sound like incredible parties, loads and loads of fun.

But especially with the expense, I guess it would put quite a lot of pressure on students and on families who don't have that kind of money. Yeah, absolutely. You know, I was just crawling on TikTok and on Instagram, just looking at some of the things that people were saying, parents who were saying that the pressure is too much.

Because when I was speaking to my friend from Uganda, he was telling me that proms have been there for years. However, the proms that happen in government schools or normal schools are just normal parties. And they just come in and they have a good time. They eat and they go home or they go back to class. But then with the extravagant...

they would definitely put a lot of pressure on the students who are going to put pressure on families. And you even see parents talking online saying that I'm thinking of moving my child

to a normal school because the pressure is too much. I cannot keep up. So these proms are for the more expensive schools. Yeah, and actually other people were saying that you would think that these students are rich, but they put a lot of pressure on their parents. And I don't want to believe that a parent would even get a loan to fund such kind of a lifestyle for just a day. But I wouldn't be shocked if I hear that they want to make their children happy. So they're going to get the money

I've actually got this voice note from a student in Uganda talking about what she makes a prom. Hello. I'm Navakoza Patricia, the ghetto queen. I'm 20 and I go to university. My prom was at our school in the main hall. So we went on the red carpet with everybody. We just walked. There was no cars there.

And all that. But I mean, it was beautiful. It was simple to see kids who are able to pull out their special dresses, special cars, maybe some are there, some are their parents, some are rented.

But because they want to treat this as a special day, it's beautiful. Though to the other hand, there are kids who cannot afford it and it just scares them. Some of them be like, oh, how are people going to see me if I don't come in the car? All my friends are going to bring cars. I feel like this...

It really plays into this kind of flex culture, right, where people just show off how much money they've got. So what has the Ministry of Education and Sports come out to say? They are banning extravagant activities in schools.

lavish cars and helicopters from prom parties. They have also said that they are banning indecent dressing, including like tight clothes, mini skirts, see-through outfits. They've also come out to say that they are banning romantic behavior. I've read people talking about drugs and substances. The government has also come out to say that all parties that are happening in school premises should end by 6 p.m. And of course, I was just looking at reactions online and...

I was expecting that people were not happy. But I think for most parents, they're even asking, can they just ban prom completely? Because it's become too much. Critics of the government might say, you know, it's one night a year. These guys are celebrating finishing their exams. Let them have their big night. You know, when I was that age, I was definitely up until 10pm at least one night a year. Yeah.

Yeah, actually, yeah. So critics are saying, first of all, the government should be focusing on other things other than focusing on kids who are sort of like finishing high school and they just want to have fun for one night. So it's not your money. Why are you controlling us or what our parents want to spend on us? But at the end of the day, regulation should be put there to also protect people who are underage.

because it seems like a lot happens in these parties other than what we see, which is the glitz and glam. And, you know, I think a lot of things that the government has seen or had led to them just imposing these bans in the schools. There are some students who do agree with the ban and we got this voice note. I'm Chiamtai Zamzam. I'm 23 years old. I'm a student at Macquarie University.

I personally agree with the rules that the government have put on the prom parties because it's bringing the gap between the society of the rich and the poor. When such prom parties are done with heavy expenses of millions here, it's bringing that peer pressure. And here is MC Ollo again with his thoughts on the new rules. I respectfully disagree with this direction. Some of these new prom rules are taking care

While I totally understand the need for guidance, discipline and safety, especially in schools, I believe we should not take, you know, away the core of what makes PROM special for the students. Some of these new rules seem so stripped to students for their opportunity of self-expression and, you know, celebration. For example, if you saw the elite PROM, that's how the young people wanted to express themselves. We shouldn't be banning this PROM culture. We should be guiding it.

Prom can still be set space without killing the vibe of making students feel restricted. I actually haven't met a student who is happy. They're telling the government, if you guys did not enjoy your prom years ago, let us enjoy our parents' money. Let us enjoy the cars. Let us enjoy the choppers. You know what? Next time I go on a date, I hope that I get picked up in a helicopter.

Please share the picture. If I get a helicopter, I'll share the picture. Don't worry, I'll post it. I'll flex. Oh my God, in case this happens, I'll just be there. Oh my God. OMG. Well, he better be rich. Gloria, thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me and for hosting me. It's been really a pleasure being back at What In The World podcast.

So all of this got me thinking about how prom became such a big tradition, where it comes from. And I wanted to find out if what I've seen in the movies matches up with the real thing. So here with me in the studio is our very own William Lee Adams. Hey, y'all. So did you go to prom? I'm assuming so. I went to five proms at my high school, at other high schools. Prom in America is such a big deal, right? You can trace it back to the 18th, 19th century, these debutante balls, where you introduce people to society. So it's a

coming-of-age moment. Like Richardson. Yeah, exactly. And since then, you know, that's all faded. But the idea of coming-of-age, rite of passage, that still remains. So it's your first night grown up. You're transitioning into adulthood. Your parents aren't there. It's often far away. So I lived in a small town. There's nowhere to have a prom. So ours was an hour away on Stone Mountain, the largest exposed piece of granite rock in the world. And we were in a glass kind of auditorium. You could see out into nature. It

It's like a wedding, but you don't get married, right? It's like all the pomp and circumstance. It's also a popularity contest in some ways. And there are people who want to be prom king or prom queen. And usually it's the jocks, the athletes, the cheerleaders with money, the people who are considered cool and gorgeous. But Hannah, secret, I was actually prom king and I was none of those things.

How did you do it? How did you win those hearts and minds, William? I treated it like the presidential primary. I realized that there were more of us considered freaks and geeks than there were popular kids. And so I courted that vote. I was on the street for a week saying, yo, we have to change the system. And it worked. It worked. Like, did you have a tiara? You have a parade. You're in an open top car. I won a scepter. But it was mostly just the social capital. And hey, college admissions in America, it's competitive. So any feather you can have in your bow, you got to run with it.

Is this the same in all schools across the states? Like, is it as amazing, as extravagant? Does everyone get access to a limo and a full-length gown? Or is it a private school thing? And do some states have different traditions? It really varies by where you live. But I'd say the common thread is that people make an effort.

And some high schools will only have it in the local gym. Others, you know, the wealthier private schools. I went to one of those proms and my goodness, they went all out. It was at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. So you were dancing underneath large skeletons of brontosaurus. It was crazy. I didn't get to have a school prom, maybe because I went to a girls' school or maybe like it was just a little bit too American for us Brits. But if I was going to go back in time to my final year at school and I had been asked out

to prom what advice would you give me you know you've got to be confident you've got to walk into that room and say I'm here to have fun you know the fact is you're with your friends there's music playing there's no excuse to be nervous let your hair down just go for it okay I'm going to go and recreate prom night then William thanks so much you're so welcome well that is it for today's episode I'm Hannah Gelbart this is What In The World from the BBC World Service and I hope you get to dance the night away