The fourth annual Cape Town Carnival, of which the City of Cape Town is a major sponsor, has been hailed as an overwhelming success.
More than 50 000 Capetonians headed to the Fan Walk in Green Point on Saturday 16 March to witness the extravaganza, which carried the theme of African Legends and visually portrayed characters from the ancient African folk stories which most South Africans grew up with.
A total of 1 657 choreographed performers took part in the Carnival parade, accompanying a dazzling array of colourful floats. The float highlights seemed to be the kaleidoscopic colours of the giant chameleon, a realistic elephant, complete with moving trunk and flapping ears, the Flying Dutchman in full sail, Van Hunks smoking on Table Mountain, and the Queen of Sheba.
Production teams spent many months creating the floats and costumes, all of which were new so as to provide regular Carnival-goers with a completely new visual spectacle.
Music was provided by top South African artists such as Lloyd Cele and Claire Phillips, while DJ Ready D wowed the crowds at the well-attended after-party.
The parade was opened by the Executive Mayor, Alderman Patricia de Lille, and was blessed with good weather.
“The carnival was a colourful, vibrant celebration of the diverse cultures in the city,” said the Executive Mayor.
“The organisers, volunteers and everyone who was responsible for ensuring that the carnival is a success, have once again made Cape Town proud by delivering an incident-free world class cultural festival.”
She added that the Carnival is another exciting permanent feature of the City of Cape Town’s events calendar, which aims to establish the city as the events capital of the continent as well as promoting unity and preserving Cape Town’s rich cultural heritage.
De Lille said diverse events such as the Carnival, Pick n Pay Argus Cycle Tour, Cape Town Fashion Week, Two Oceans Marathon, Cape Town International Jazz Festival, Mitchells Plain Festival and others bring residents from different backgrounds together, which promotes the City’s efforts to build an inclusive city.
“The benefits of these events to the City are far-reaching. They go beyond uniting Capetonians to enjoy the festivities in the city. They help create job opportunities for poor residents. They expose local businesses, especially SMMEs, to a broader market. They boost the City’s value proposition to tourists, investors and the rest of the world. And more importantly, they symbolise this administration’s intention to build a more inclusive city by celebrating our cultural diversity.”
For pictures of the Carnival, visit the Carnival website, Facebook page or follow the Carnival on Twitter.
