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In a narrow alleyway in the town of Stone, Zanzibar, stands an old building that consistently attracts a considerable number of visitors. Here, faded photographs are pinned to the outside of the door, while inside, a collection of polished images and old newspaper clippings leads to the center of the museum: where a black piano with a fascinating history sits.
A boy from Zanzibar once played that piano. His name was Farrokh Bulsara, but he is remembered worldwide as Freddie Mercury.
The fiery frontman of the band Queen, Freddie Mercury was born in Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous island off the coast of Tanzania. This museum is dedicated to his memory.
Queen band
A melting pot of diverse cultures and traditions, Zanzibar is known for its stunning sunsets and unique local spices, and has become a popular destination since the Stone Town was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.
Sunset in Zanzibar
After the hit movieBohemian RhapsodyActor Rami Malek received the Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in 2018, further increasing public interest in the late singer.
The film Bohemian Rhapsody stars Rami Malek as the male lead.
Zanzibar businessman Javed Jafferji is a co-owner of the Freddie Mercury Museum. Jafferji became a fan of the Queen while a university student in London in the mid-1980s. "At that time, not many people knew Mercury came from Zanzibar," he said.
Even today, many people don't know that Mercury was originally from Zanzibar. Therefore, Jafferji opened the museum with the goal of putting the town of Stone on the map of rock music history.
Stone Town, Zanzibar
Freddie Mercury was born on September 5, 1946, as Farrokh Bulsara in the town of Stone. The Bulsara family were Parsi from India – they were Zoroastrians, an ancient Persian religion.
Mercury's birth certificate
Mercury as a child, in Zanzibar
When Farrokh was a child, he first sang in the Zoroastrian temple of the town. At that time, there were about 300 members of the Parsi community in Zanzibar. Today, only a few remain of the community, and the temple has long been abandoned.
Mercury spent much of his childhood in Zanzibar and attended boarding school in India. In the early 1960s, his family moved to England.
Freddie Mercury and his mother
Less than a decade later, Mercury formed Queen and became a rock legend. From then on, he never returned to his birthplace.
In 2002, Jafferji opened a small souvenir shop called The Mercury House in an old Bulsara family home. "I recognized the history behind this building," he said.
In 2002, Javed Jafferji opened a souvenir shop on the ground floor of the house where Bulsara's family used to live.
Nearly two decades later, the film's releaseBohemian RhapsodyThis greatly inspired Jafferji's thinking. An unexpected visit to Zanzibar by Brian May, the guitarist of Queen, led him to decide to open a museum.
Brian May visits The Mercury House in Zanzibar.
"May took a picture outside the building and posted it on her Instagram page," Jafferji said. Later, Jafferji and her friend, Andrea Boero, also a big fan of Mercury, collaborated with Queen Productions Ltd. in the UK to transform The Mercury House into a museum, documenting Mercury's early years in Zanzibar. The museum opened on November 24, 2019, the 28th anniversary of Mercury's death.
Jafferji (right) and Andrea Boero (left) collaborated with Queen Productions Ltd. in the UK to transform Mercury's former home into a museum, documenting Mercury's early years in Zanzibar.
However, in March of this year, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the museum to close and postponed the Mercury Tour, a guided walking tour of Mercury-themed sites in the town of Stone.
The museum opened on November 24, 2019, commemorating the 28th anniversary of Mercury's death.
Despite the tour being postponed, Jafferji remains optimistic about the future. "We really want to raise awareness of Freddie Mercury's time in Zanzibar and in Tanzania in general," said Anam Adnan, the museum director. "We want people to celebrate him."
But honoring Freddie Mercury in Zanzibar is complicated. If Mercury had ever returned to his homeland, he might have struggled to gain acceptance from a predominantly Muslim community where homosexuality is illegal.
"We didn't want to draw too much attention to his personal life because that's a controversial topic for the Zanzibar community," Adnan said. Instead, she said, the museum focuses on Mercury's music and art. "That's the greatest tribute we, and the people of Zanzibar, can pay to him."
Additional information
Address:Kenyatta Road, Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania
Opening hours:10 AM - 6 PM daily
government: https://freddiemercurymuseum.com/
Phone number:+255 777 153 232
