Free family festivities await at this year’s Cape Town Carnival
Capetonians, you don’t want to be caught sleeping on Saturday, March 21 and miss the Cape Town Carnival’s annual street parade. It’s fun, fabulous, family friendly – and totally free.
Bring your friends and family and join your fellow residents as the 16th Cape Town Carnival parades down the streets of Green Point in a blaze of colour and sound. There’ll be celebrity performers, there’ll be dancers in colourful costumes, there’ll be mind-blowing floats lighting up the night sky. Oh, and did we mention the Fire Fighters?
The high point of every Cape Town Carnival is the main parade and its procession of performers and floats down the Fan Walk from 7pm, as crowds cheer on the spectacle. But there are many more reasons to join the festivities.
There’ll be pre-entertainment and food vendors to keep Carnival watchers happy from 3pm to 6pm. The inaugural 1km Fun Run kicks off at 4.30pm with three races – and have some fantastic prizes on offer. The Carnival opens at 6pm when the pre-parade starts, featuring crowd favourites like the Harley Davidsons and the Fire Fighters and Law Enforcement Officers showing off their moves. After the main parade is complete, there’ll be the after party to enjoy until midnight – featuring carnival supporter YoungstaCPT and other great DJs.
The main parade will be as visually astounding as always, with some surprises for the 2026 edition.
Staying true to the 2026 theme of “Follow your heART”, this year’s event has had a boost of artistic energy from 12 “Carnival Champions” drawn from the city’s creative community.
They are singer Zolani Mahola, Anslin Gysman, DJ Ready D, Suidooster star Natasha van der Merwe, graffiti artist Rizah Potgieter, the late hip-hop artist Bravo le Roux, designer Stephen van Eeden, make-up influencer Jemma Fourie, performance legend Terry Fortune, activist Nyaniso Tutu-Burris, make-up artist Qhayiya Tyali, and musician Dylan Majavie.
Cape Town Carnival CEO Jay Douwes, said:
“These Champions have followed their heart in order to live their passion, and they’ll be providing inspiration as they share their stories.”
Some of the Champions, such as Zolani Mahola and legend DJ Ready D, will be performing during the event while others have participated in the creation of elements of the Carnival floats. They will be joined by Siv Ngesi, Miss Universe South Africa 2025 Melissa Nayimuli, Big Brother SA stars Ofentse Modise, Nate Setwaba and Naledi Mallela and the Kfm 94.5 duo of Carl Wastie & Cassidy Nicholson.
Community groups, dancers, designers and float builders are among those who have been hard at work for months, perfecting the creations that will grace the Mother City on March 21.
Cape Town Carnival performance director Tracey Carterm says:
“There have been hours and hours of rehearsals so that we can put on a performance like no other. What we love best about the event is the sense of cross-cultural pollination that happens, not only between all the Carnival groups, but between the thousands of spectators who forget their worries for one night as they party safely in the streets together and enjoy the show we have created.”
The event is FREE but there are some VIP and seated stand tickets on sale here.
Sponsors and partners of the Cape Town Carnival include: City of Cape Town, Multichoice and DStv, Media24 including News24, Western Cape Government Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport and the Premier’s Office, Kfm94.5, Southern Sun Hotels, Novus Media including People’s Post, Tygerburger and City Vision, Tractor Outdoor, Media24 Lifestyle: Huisgenoot, You, Kuier and Drum, Via TV, Clicks, Okushal Cordials, Coca Cola Peninsula Beverages, and City Sightseeing.
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