cape town’s top annual eventsresource.capetown.gov.za › documentcentre › documents... ·...
TRANSCRIPT
CAPE MINSTREL CARNIVAL
3
The Cape Minstrel Carnival is Cape
Town’s longest-running street party,
tracing back to old slave traditions
during the days of the Cape Colony.
Historically celebrated on January 2,
the one day Cape slaves were given
off every year, the carnival is still
marked today by merrymaking, music
and a parade. Performers from local communities, dressed as
minstrels and waving parasols, dance and sing their way from
Zonnebloem, formerly District Six, through the city centre.
L’ORMARINS QUEEN’S PLATE
4
The L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate is the oldest horse racing event in South
Africa and is one of international significance. It was first raced in
1861 in honour of Queen Victoria. After her death, it became the
King’s Plate during the reigns of Edward VII and George VI. In 1953
Elizabeth II was crowned so it reverted to the Queen’s Plate. The
monarch retains a keen interest in the race. Every year she is
represented at the event by the British High Commissioner in South
Africa. The L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate showcases and hosts
courageous, determined champion racehorses. To crown it all, with
its blue and white colours it is the epitome of elegance and beauty.
J&B MET
5
Cape Town’s premier horseracing event, the J&B Met, takes place at
the Kenilworth Racecourse annually. About 50 000 people attend the
Met, dubbed South Africa’s top horse-racing and fashion event.
MINING INDABA
7
The Annual Investing in African Mining
Indaba takes place in Cape Town
annually in February. The event attracts
some 7 800 professionals, including top
economists, mining analysts and financiers,
representing more than 1 500 international
companies from over 100 countries. The
conference has over the last five years
(2006 – 2013) contributed nearly R500m to
the local economy.
CAPE TOWN TENS
8
The Cape Town Tens, brainchild of resident rugby legends Bob
Skinstad and Robbie Fleck, is popular with locals and sports fans from
across the country and the world, and has built a loyal and
enthusiastic following since its inception in 2009. The tournament is a
unique sports lifestyle and family event that provides a winning
formula of rugby, sunshine, banter and live entertainment to more
than 2 000 players and 12 000 spectators over two days. The event
takes place in the heart of the city, giving visitors a bird’s eye view of
well-known Cape Town landmarks such as Table Mountain, one of
the world’s Seven Wonders of Nature, and the V&A Waterfront,
another major city attraction and tourist hotspot. The tournament
gives aspirant rugby stars the opportunity to meet rugby greats
through a series of development clinics. These kinds of initiatives help
build a more inclusive Cape Town, where hundreds of youngsters
have the chance to learn from the sport’s most legendary names.
CAPE TOWN ELECTRONIC MUSIC FESTIVAL
9
Established in 2012 as a platform to celebrate the progress made by
South Africa’s electronic music scene over the last fifteen years, the
Cape Town Electronic Music Festival is gaining recognition as one of
the most relevant and forward-thinking events on South Africa’s
annual music festival calendar. The event takes place on the historic
Grand Parade and offers a dynamic line-up and far-reaching
programme of workshops and satellite events across the city.
DESIGN INDABA
10
Design Indaba Expo is driven by a passion for innovative work with a
strong local flavour. In 2014, Design Indaba Expo had over 500
exhibitors, welcomed over 40 000 visitors and introduced over 500
local and international buyers to Africa's creative spirit.
CAPE TOWN CYCLE TOUR
12
The world’s largest
timed cycle race
takes place in March
annually. The race,
usually 109 km long, is
the first event outside
Europe to be included
in the International Cycling Union's Golden Bike Series. Some 35 000
riders from around the world participate. The City of Cape Town
provides the Cycle Tour organisers with various City-owned venues
and services, including traffic, cleansing, disaster management
services and marketing. Venues availed include the Green Point
shared fields, the Cape Town Stadium forecourt and parking areas.
ABSA CAPE EPIC
13
The Absa Cape Epic,
referred to as the “Tour de
France” of mountain
biking, takes place in
mid-March annually.
Around 1 200 South African
and international riders
from 49 different countries
participated. The eight-day
event includes 698km of biking and 15 650m of climbing. Kicking off in
Durbanville, the route takes riders along the Western Cape’s breath-
taking mountain passes.
CAPE TOWN CARNIVAL
14
Cape Town streets are once
again set to explode with
colour, floats and dancers
when the Cape Town
Carnival takes place in
March. More than 50 000
visitors and locals are
expected to descend on
the central city for the
annual event. The carnival is a colourful expression of our diverse
communities. It is a celebration of the way in which residents and the
City can work and come together to experience and celebrate the
cultural diversity of our city.
INFECTING THE CITY
15
Cape Town’s public spaces are transformed into the backdrop for
‘Infecting the City’, a city-wide arts festival held in March annually.
Infecting the City brings together artists from across the world, telling
stories using dance, music and photography. Some of the works are
based on audience participation which really allows city residents to
get involved in, and even influence, the final product. Several unique
arts productions take place at the Iziko National Museum, The
Company’s Garden, St. George’s Mall and in various other city
centre streets.
OLD MUTUAL TWO OCEANS MARATHON
16
The Two Oceans Marathon is a
56km ultramarathon and 21km
half-marathon held annually in
Cape Town on the Saturday of
the Easter weekend. Known
globally as "the world's most
beautiful marathon”, the race
is run against a backdrop of
spectacular scenery through
the Cape Peninsula. Both
races start in Newlands. Since its inaugural edition in 1970, the event
has grown. Selling out every year, the Half Marathon sees some 16
000 participants (making it the biggest half marathon in South Africa),
while 11 000 athletes tackle the 56km Ultra Marathon. In addition to
the main events, a series of other events take place the day before.
CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL
18
The Cape Town International
Jazz Festival is the continent’s
biggest jazz event. Some
35 000 people from across
Africa and the world attend
the event over the two days.
The City of Cape Town
contributes about R3 million
towards the event. As part of
the festival programme, organisers present a series of workshops that
take place at various venues throughout Cape Town over an eight
day period. The festival creates over 2 000 temporary jobs in the
Western Cape, excluding the employees directly involved in
organising the event.
AFRICA TRAVEL WEEK
19
World Travel Market Africa, part of
Africa Travel Week, returns to Cape
Town in 2016. The event will again
take place at the CTICC and
comprises three co-located shows:
the World Travel Market Africa, the
International Luxury Travel Market
Africa, and the Incentives, Business
Travel and Meetings Africa event.
Cape Town will again have the world
leaders in luxury and business travel on our doorstep for a full week, including some 500 top travel buyers, 4 500 trade visitors, over 200 global media representatives and 2 000 exhibiting personnel. Through Africa Travel Week, the City is actively looking to position the city as a holistic destination that is more than just about tourism.
ITU WORLD TRIATHLON SERIES
20
Cape Town welcomes some
of the world’s top endurance
sport athletes to the Mother
City for the ITU World Triathlon
Series (WTS) in April. The Cape
Town-leg of the race will serve
as the second stop on the
eight-city tour, which starts in
Auckland, New Zealand. The
heart of the event is the Race
Village at the V&A Waterfront, which features a lifestyle exhibition and grandstands from where the public will have a clear view of the finish line. Cape Town was one of only two cities to debut on the WTS calendar in 2014, with Chicago also hosting the event for the first time. Other host cities include Yokohama, London, Hamburg, Stockholm and Edmonton.
SUIDOOSTERFEES
21
The Suidoosterfees celebrates Cape Town’s colourful culture and
heritage with concerts, plays, comedy and more. The event takes
place predominately at Cape Town City Hall, the Artscape and the
Fugard Theatre and uses performance, music, historical tours, art
exhibitions and more to pay tribute to the exuberance of Cape Town
and all her people.
CAPE TOWN FUNNY FESTIVAL
23
Organisers of the Jive Cape Town Funny Festival (formerly the
Vodacom Funny Festival) bring some of the world’s supremely
talented local and international comedians to the city for a hilarious
showdown at the Baxter Theatre between May and June annually.
CAPE TOWN WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL
25
The Cape Town World Music Festival, held in Cape Town annually in
July, showcases the best of traditional, foreign and local music. The
festival is described as an event that belongs to everyone; exploring
and uniting cultures from across Africa and the world through music.
CAPE TOWN FASHION WEEK
26
The world’s top designers, models and fashion media descend on
Cape Town annually for the Mercedes Benz Cape Town Fashion
Week. With multiple shows over the three days, the festival grants top-
notch South African designers – both legends of past and up-and-
coming creatives – a platform to unveil their spring/summer
collections.
OPEN DESIGN CAPE TOWN
28
Open Design Cape Town is
an annual cross-disciplinary
citywide event creating an
educational, informative,
inclusive and collaborative
platform where through design
and its numerous disciplines,
it aims to galvanise Cape
Town’s community to openly share their design with each other,
raising awareness of and increasing appreciation for design by all.
LIPTON CUP CHALLENGE
29
A highlight on Cape Town’s yacht racing calendar, the annual Lipton
Cup Challenge takes place in Cape Town in August. The race was
first held in 1909 and its magnificent trophy, the Lipton Challenge
Cup, is up for grabs.
SANLAM CAPE TOWN MARATHAN
31
The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon
is an exhilarating ‘festival of running
’ that brings together a range of
runners including elite athletes,
social joggers and community
teams, so that everyone can relish
the joy of running through Africa’s
beautiful Mother City. The classic
42.2km marathon is the main event.
Other events over the marathon weekend include a 10km Peace
Run, a 4.2km Community Fun Run, and a 22km and 11km Peace Trail
Run. The marathon route has been designed to offer runners a view
of the city’s natural and cultural attractions from the course.
CAPE TOWN FRINGE
32
The Cape Town Fringe is a platform for young, independent artists
and independent arts companies to make their voices heard. The
Fringe Festival will use both formal and non-traditional performances
space and host a range of productions that will move, excite, enthral,
and captivate the audiences.
OPEN BOOK FESTIVAL
33
Open Book Cape Town at The Fugard Theatre is an annual literary
festival which started in 2011. The core programme of the festival
includes events that feature both international and local authors.
Open Book has developed a number of partnerships to ensure the
festival is of the highest standard.
OUTSURANCE KFM GUN RUN
35
The annual Gun Run, which sees young and old from across the City
descending on the Atlantic seaboard, is one of the City’s signature
health and lifestyle events on Cape Town’s athletic calendar.
CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL KITE FESTIVAL
36
Africa’s biggest kiting event, the Cape Town International Kite
Festival, takes place on the lawns surrounding Zandvlei, Muizenberg,
annually in October. The event is hosted by Cape Mental Health in
association with Heart 104.9FM. The annual festival attracts talented
kite-makers and kite fliers from around the world, including Europe,
Kenya, India and the USA.
VOLVO OCEAN RACE
38
The Volvo Ocean Race is the
world's premier offshore even
t and the longest and toughest
race in professional sport. The
event is an exceptional test of
sailing prowess and human
endeavour on a scale like
no other. The Volvo Ocean
Race holds enormous benefits
for the City and its residents.
The direct economic impact
through visitor and organiser spend has been estimated at over R300
million.
LION OF AFRICA CAPE TOWN OPEN
39
The Lion of Africa Cape
Town Open takes
place at the Royal
Cape Golf Club
annually in November.
The inaugural
tournament was
played in 2012, bringing
big-time professional
golf back to the
Mother City after an
absence of over a decade, with Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille
hitting the ceremonial first tee-shot.
CAPE TOWN MILITRAY TATTOO
40
The Cape Town Military Tattoo is a showcase of the diversity and
musical skill of a large number of military personnel which takes place
at the Castle of Goodd Hope annually. The event is growing in
popularity and celebrates the rich culture of the Tattoo in South
Africa originating from the 17th Century.
FESTIVE SEASON EVENTS
42
The string of Festive Season events in Cape Town annually over December and January kicks off
with a Festival of Lights on the first Sunday in December, when the Executive Mayor switches on the city’s traditional festive lights during an open-air concert on the Grand Parade. Over the two months,
residents and tourists are not short of entertainment with a number of events planned, including: • the Cape Town Summer Market • the Mayor’s De Waal Park concert
• Reconciliation Day Festival on the fan walk (16 December) • the Christmas Choirs Parade • the Nagtroepe/ Minstrels Choir Parade (31 December); and • the Tweede Nuwejaar Minstrels Parade