CAPE TOWN’S TOP ANNUAL EVENTS

JANUARY - DECEMEBER

JANUARY

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

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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

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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.

FEBRUARY

MINING INDABA

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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

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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

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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

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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.

MARCH

CAPE TOWN CYCLE TOUR

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

APRIL

CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL

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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

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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

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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.

MAY & JUNE

CAPE TOWN FUNNY FESTIVAL

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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.

JULY

CAPE TOWN WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL

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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

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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.

AUGUST

OPEN DESIGN CAPE TOWN

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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

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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.

SEPTEMBER

SANLAM CAPE TOWN MARATHAN

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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.

OCTOBER

OUTSURANCE KFM GUN RUN

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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

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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.

NOVEMBER

VOLVO OCEAN RACE

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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

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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.

DECEMBER

FESTIVE SEASON EVENTS

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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