The carnival, held in the South African city famous for its harbour, has been celebrated for decades and 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, typically on January 1, 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. This tradition of New Year celebration continued after the emancipation of the slaves to the accompaniment of street parades and bands. Indeed, from the 1820s, street orchestras and singing societies became regular features of these performances. Legend has it that the carnival was influenced by a group of African-American musicians who docked in Cape Town in the late 1800s and entertained sailors with their spontaneous performances. Many tunes you will hear played during the parade are more than 200 years old, although you are sure to hear pop songs and local interpretations of modern music too.
Immerse yourself in the festivities of the annual Tweede Nuwe Jaar Cape Town Street Parade happening in the inner city on 2 January 2019. The colourful procession takes place between Keizersgracht Street in District Six and Rose Street in the Bo-Kaap with the main entertainment happening on the Grand Parade.
The first annual Cape Town Carnival took place on Long Street, Cape Town, amidst the electrifying festivities of the 2010 World Cup Soccer tournament. It was there that the chants of an 11 000-strong audience could be heard enjoying the spectacle. Since then, spectator crowds at the Carnival have swelled to over 50 000. Its new home on the Fan Walk, Green Point, has enabled the Cape Town Carnival to expand creatively and logistically, whilst providing increasing opportunities for creative expression, job creation, skills development, social cohesion and economic development.
The Cape Town Carnival is a glamorous celebration of the transformative power of creativity and our African identity with its diverse array of communities and cultures. Every year, this festive occasion inspires our city and her people to create, build and play together – thousands of spectators converge annually on Green Point’s famous Fan Walk to join the extravagant parade of costumed performers, musicians and moving floats. The Cape Town Carnival is operated by a non-profit trust with the purpose of staging this world-class event, simultaneously creating jobs and benefiting our local economy.
HISTORY Cape Town is the oldest city in South Africa, colloquially named the Mother City. It is the legislative capital of South Africa and primate city of the Western Capeprovince. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. The Parliament of South Africa sits in Cape Town. The other two capitals are located in Pretoria (the executive capital where the Presidency is based) and Bloemfontein (the judicial capital where the Supreme Court of Appeal is located). The city is known for its harbour, for its natural setting in the Cape Floristic Region, and for landmarks such as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Cape Town is home to 64% of the Western Cape's population. It is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, reflecting its role as a major destination for immigrants and expatriates to South Africa. The city was named the World Design Capital for 2014 by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design. In 2014, Cape Town was named the best place in the world to visit by both The New York Times and The Daily Telegraph. Located on the shore of Table Bay, Cape Town, as the oldest urban area in South Africa, was developed by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a supply station for Dutch ships sailing to East Africa, India, and the Far East. Jan van Riebeeck's arrival on 6 April 1652 established Dutch Cape Colony, the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. Cape Town outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope, becoming the economic and cultural hub of the Cape Colony. Until the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the development of Johannesburg, Cape Town was the largest city in South Africa. Although Cape Town in itself is a city of approximately 500,000 people, it is part of a greater urban area, also referred to as The City of Cape Town and functions as a Municipality, with the municipal boundaries stretching from the city centre area and its suburbs, from the South Peninsula to beyond Mamre in the north and as far east as Gordon's Bay.