With just four months before the end of 2023, Cape Town is looking to end a successful year of events on a high. This week will see the start of a bumper four months of events to close out the year.
The third instalment of FAME Week Africa, taking place from 3 – 9 September 2023, will kick off an exciting season of events until the end of the year.
The City, through its Events Department, is providing financial support and/or municipal services and venue waiver to at least 62 events before the end of the year.
The City has already supported 81 events since the beginning of the year.
‘The City of Cape Town is a partner in these events and understands their importance to the economy, job creation and fostering social cohesion. Just seven of Cape Town’s key events generated over R5 billion, while 20 of the major events supported by the City recorded over one million participants and spectators. The 2022/23 financial year saw Cape Town host 27 new events we’ve never had before and a majority of them were in 2023. We started this year with a mix of local and international, from the return of the Tweede Nuwe Jaar parade, Formula E, ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, the Cape Town Carnival and recently the Netball World Cup. Patrons in the Mother City have been spoiled for choice in the first half of 2023 and the second half of the year has more in store for event lovers. Get yourselves ready, plan and come down to Cape Town for a couple of months of exhilarating events,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security Alderman JP Smith.
FAME Week Africa is a safari of events where Film, Art, Media and Entertainment are packaged into one event.
For an entire week, local and international delegates enjoy film screenings, live entertainment, take part in networking, meetings, and conferences connecting industry professionals and creatives.
September will also be a thrilling month for motorsports enthusiasts who will be blessed with two electrifying events in the Extreme Festival National Championship (8 – 9 September) and DRIFTCity (24 September).
The Extreme Festival National Championship, taking place at the Killarney International Race, is South Africa’s premier series featuring various classes of motorsports including global touring cars, F1600, GT3 cars and superbikes.
The ultimate showdown of the country’s top drifters, DRIFTCity returns to the Grand Parade for a combination of speed, tyre smoke and precision driving for the first time since 2019.
Literature, creative, arts and culture
For lovers of literature, the Open Book Festival will take over several venues around the city from 8 – 10 September for a three-day programme which includes discussions and talks by some of the country’s best authors.
WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance), one of the longest and most respected cultural festivals, will bring together artists from all over the globe for a celebration of the performing arts at the V&A Waterfront from 22 – 25 September.
For the first time in the arena’s history, an African artist will headline a concert at the DHL Stadium when Zakes Bantwini, supported by a variety of musicians, hosts his Abantu Festival on 28 October.
Operalia, the World Opera Competition, will bring together 34 of the world’s emerging opera singers to launch the careers of the most promising young singers. The event takes place at the Artscape Theatre between the 30 October and 5 November.
Sports
From 23 to 25 September, Vygieskraal Stadium will host the Legacy Masters Hockey Tournament featuring various teams from across the country.
In September Cape Town will also welcome the NFL for its Fan Events on 16 and 17 September at the CTICC & V&A Waterfront.
October will see the return of the Mother City’s premier grassroots football festival Kapstadt Cup which will provide a platform to over 1700 youth footballers under the age of 16. The tournament takes place from 4 – 8 October 2023.
For the first time since 2019, the FIA World Rallycross series will make its return to Cape Town on 7 and 8 October for electrifying racing, daring overtakes, and breathtaking jumps with all-electric rallycross cars.
This will be followed by the finals of SAFA Cape Town’s Coke Cup on 14 October pitting together the best teams from the metro at Athlone Stadium.
In October, the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon will begin its second year of the race evaluation in its attempt to become an Abbott World Marathon Major. The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon hits the streets of the Mother City on 14 and 15 October 2023.
And it’s less than 100 days before the start of the revamped Cape Town SVNS festival featuring the top 12 men’s and women’s sevens rugby teams competing for the ultimate World Sevens. The DHL Stadium will host the tournament on 9 and 10 December 2023.
