Cape Town is to have its own Rio-style Carnival as of March 2010. This was announced by Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille last night.
The Cape Town Carnival will run from 12 – 14 March 2010, the weekend in between the Argus Cycle Tour and the Two Oceans Marathon. It will be a weekend of music, dance and cultural expression, and “is a celebration of diversity”, according to its website www.capetowncarnival.com
The theme of the first Cape Town Carnival will be “Rhythm, Roots & Boots”. It aims at “celebrating uniting diverse communities through music, dance and creativity, show-casing the best of Cape Town, annually…” says Dr Rachel Jafta, the Cape Town Carnival Trust Chairman and University of Stellenbosch Associate Professor of Economics. “We wanted to create something new, where communities interact and celebrate our uniqueness, but also unite as citizens of one of the most beautiful cities of the world.” she added, reports the Cape Times.
The Trust team are largely unknown to the tourism industry, and includes Clarence Ford, radio presenter and previous owner of the now defunct Manenbergs, Craig Lemboe, Eldridge Moses, Anton Liebenberg, Henry Hockey, Themba Nolutshungu, Fritz Marx and Programme Manager Isabel Meyer. It is worrying that the Trustees do not appear to have Tourism or Event Management experience, and that the tourism bodies Cape Town Tourism and Cape Town Routes Unlimited are not involved.
On 12 March 2010 the Carnival will kick off with themed balls and dance shows in community halls around Cape Town, as well as with street, club and beach parties. On 13 March floats will parade through the city.
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