Visit the world's first Freddie Mercury museum

Down a narrow alley in Stone Town, Zanzibar, sits an old building that always attracts a fair amount of visitors. Faded photographs are pinned to the door, while inside a collection of glossy photos and old newspaper clippings lead to the heart of the museum: a black piano with a fascinating history.

A young boy from Zanzibar once played that piano. His name was Farrokh Bulsara, but he would be remembered around the world as Freddie Mercury.

The fiery frontman of Queen, Freddie Mercury was born in Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous island off the coast of Tanzania. This museum is dedicated to his memory.

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 Stone Town was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

After the hit movieBohemian Rhapsody, actor Rami Malek received the Oscar for best actor for his role as Freddie Mercury in 2018, causing public interest in the late singer to increase even more.

Zanzibari businessman Javed Jafferji is co-owner of the Freddie Mercury Museum. Jafferji became a fan of Queen as a university student in London in the mid-1980s. "At that time, not many people knew Mercury was from Zanzibar," he said.

Even today, many people don't know that Mercury was originally from Zanzibar, so Jafferji opened the museum with the aim of putting Stone Town on the map in rock history.

Freddie Mercury was born on September 5, 1946, as Farrokh Bulsara in Stone Town. The Bulsara family were Parsis from India - they were followers of Zoroastrianism, an ancient Persian religion.

As a child, Farrokh first sang in the town's Zoroastrian temple. At the time, there were about 300 members of Zanzibar's Parsi community. Today, only a handful of that community remain, and the temple has long been abandoned.

Mercury spent most of his childhood in Zanzibar and attended boarding school in India. In the early 1960s, his family moved to England.

Less than a decade later, Mercury formed Queen and became a rock legend. 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 realized the history behind this building,” he says.

Nearly two decades later, the film's releaseBohemian RhapsodyA surprise visit to Zanzibar by Queen guitarist Brian May inspired Jafferji to open a museum.

“May took a picture outside the building and posted it on her Instagram,” Jafferji said. Jafferji and his friend Andrea Boero, also a Mercury fan, then teamed up with Queen Productions Ltd. in the UK to turn The Mercury House into a museum chronicling Mercury’s early years in Zanzibar. The museum opened on November 24, 2019, the 28th anniversary of Mercury’s death.

However, in March this year, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the museum to close and postpone the Mercury Tour, a guided walking tour of Mercury landmarks in Stone Town.

Despite the tour postponement, Jafferji remains optimistic about the future. “We really want to raise awareness about Freddie Mercury’s time in Zanzibar and Tanzania in general,” said Anam Adnan, director of the museum. “We want people to celebrate him.”

But honoring Freddie Mercury in Zanzibar is complicated. If Mercury ever returned to his homeland, he would likely have difficulty gaining acceptance in a predominantly Muslim community where homosexuality is illegal.

“We don’t want to draw too much attention to his personal life because it’s a controversial topic for the Zanzibari community,” Adnan said. Instead, she said, the museum focuses on Mercury’s music and art. “That’s the biggest tribute we, as Zanzibaris, can do for him.”

More information

Address:Kenyatta Road, Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Opening hours:10am - 6pm daily

Website: https://freddiemercurymuseum.com/

Phone number:+255 777 153 232

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