Cape Town South Africa

Cape Town Stadium is about to be rocked like it has not been since the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. Big Concerts and 94.5kfm have confirmed today that Cape Town will be one of the local stops on U2’s “360°” world tour.

The Irish rock band will be rocking the Mother City on February 18, 2011 at Cape Town Stadium. Some 72 000 tickets will go on sale this coming Saturday and are expected to sell out quickly. Ticket prices will start at R161 and peak at R2 568 for VIP tickets in the so-called ‘Red Zone’.

Although U2’s famous frontman, Bono and the band’s guitarist The Edge have been in Cape Town before, for a performance at Nelson Mandela’s 4664 bash in 2003, this is the first time that the entire band will be performing in South Africa. Apart from the performance at Cape Town Stadium, the band will also play at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

Dancing and music are universal platforms that transcend all languages. Imagine having the whole world dancing in unison? Non-stop. For an entire weekend. Everyone would be too happy to make war or fight. And wouldn’t THAT be wonderful?

That is more or less the vision and intention behind the annual Earthdance event taking place across the globe in more than 60 countries this weekend, including right here in the Western Cape.

Capetonians will be able to get their groove on with the rest of the world and herald the advent of spring at the Nekkies Resort in Worcester this whole weekend. Artists lined-up to provide non-stop music at our local Earthdance 2010 event include Laughing Buddha, Cooks, The Commercial Hippies, Krushed & Sorted, LoneSome Dave, Mix n Blend, Tommy Gun, The Plastics and many more.

Those who need to take a break from dancing will be able to rejuvenate and nourish their bodies at various food stalls (which will cater to the vegetarians too), browse the craft market, take a dip in the river or pool, and even refresh at the on-site showers. Since the event is open to all ages, there will even be a Kids Zone to keep the little ones entertained.

At one point during the weekend, all the Earthdance events will be linked via the “Prayer for Peace” meditation, a song that will be played at all the events globally at exactly the same time – in South Africa, that moment will arrive at 01:00 on Sunday morning – connecting all participants at every Earthdance event on earth in solidarity for peace.

Apart from dancing for peace, attendees will also be contributing to green peace! One tree will be donated to and planted by the GreenPop initiative for every 100 people that attend Earthdance Cape Town 2010. So while you will be shaking your own trunk, you will contribute to GreenPop’s tree-volution to green the entire Cape Town metropolis by planting 1 000 trees there during September.

Ticket prices for the event varies depending on where you buy it from.

Outlets: Full Weekend: R270p/p | Sat and Sun: R230p/p
Online: Full Weekend: R290p/p | Sat and Sun: R250p/p
Gate: R320p/p

For more information, visit the Earthdance Cape Town 2010 website.

Cape Town has just received an international review from someone who is far more used to being at the receiving end of reviews.

Bestselling novelist, Zimbabwean-born Wilbur Smith, has turned the tables by writing about the city nestled at the foot of Table Mountain. In an article for the British newspaper the Telegraph, the prolific author, who has more than 30 published novels under his belt, shares some of his favourite hang-outs and things to do in the Mother City.

The article appears in question and answer format and the contents of Smith’s answers all add up to give Cape Town a ringing endorsement, calling it a “beautiful city that has everything”.

“… the weather’s perfect – it’s warm in winter, hot in summer and it rains just the right amount. It has everything: good wine, good fishing and, of course, the sea. What makes it so special, though, is Table Mountain, which defines the city in the eyes of the world. True, it’s often shrouded in the “cloth”, but, if anything, that just adds to the beauty of the mountain because it spills over it like a waterfall.”

Smith suggests that visitors take a scenic drive to Cape Point, have sundowners at the stylish Mt. Nelson and supper and people-watching at Willoughby’s. For first time visitors, he recommends a trip to the World of Birds in Hout Bay to take in more than 400 species of Africa’s feathered denizens.

To read what other recommendations Smith made and to see which hotel cracked a nod from him as the place to stay while here, read the article in full here.

With bathing suit season upon us, and hot on the heels of the news that Cape Town is South Africa’s fattest city, the Look & Feel Good Expo’s arrival this weekend couldn’t be any timelier.

While we’ve all become starved for time in today’s fast paced world, it seems that many of us have sacrificed our health and well-being, putting ourselves last to get everything done. The Expo, which kicks off at the Cape Town International Convention Centre today (10 September) and runs until 12 September, will help people to get back to a life focused on health, wellness, longevity, positivity, vitality – not just our own but the environment around us as well.

Exhibitors will showcase products in six main lifestyle categories: fitness, health, beauty, well-being, greening and happiness and visitors will be treated to loads of free samples and treatments.

There will also be various workshops focused on health and wellness, including yoga demonstrations, a day spa and a health assessment zone.

Workshops will be presented by a line-up of local and international speakers of celebrities and nutritionists.

For more information, visit the event website.

Winter might still be hanging around outside, but things are decidedly hotter on the runways at the AFI Cape Town Fashion Week.

But before we get to that… this Fashion Week coincides with great news. Cape Town is officially being recognised as one of the fashion capitals of the world. Reuters reports that Global Language Monitor, a U.S. based non-profit group that tracks the frequency of words and phrases used in the media, on the Internet and throughout the blogosphere, compiled a list of the world’s top fashion capitals. According to the list, New York has reclaimed the top spot from Milan, and Cape Town also cracked the list, coming in at number 23, which isn’t at all bad for a newcomer. (In our book our timelessly stylish Mother City is ALWAYS number one, though!)

Audiences at the AFI Cape Town Fashion Week at the Cape Town International Convention Centre are getting an early taste of sizzling spring and summer styles as upcoming and established designers present their ready-to-wear collections for the upcoming season.

Some of the big name designers whose collections are living up to this Fashion Week’s theme of “Refresh, Revive, Renew” include Klûk CGDT, Craig Port, Stoned Cherrie and Stefania Morland. The work of selected, up-and-coming fashion design students will also be showcased in a graduate collection at this season’s event.

It lasts until tomorrow, Saturday 14 August. Tickets are available for R150 per show from www.webtickets.co.za . For a full line-up of tomorrow afternoon and evening’s shows, visit the Cape Town Fashion Week website.

Flamedrop Productions’ inaugural Daring Doccies Documentary Film Festival is happening at the Labia Theatre until the 5th of August.

The fare includes many acclaimed and award-winning works, and the festival will be the first time that some of these films will be screened in South Africa. As the title of the festival suggests, many of these selected documentaries tackle some hard-hitting global and economical subjects.

Among those films that will be premiering and making debut theatrical runs locally are: Mugabe and the White African, which chronicles the story of Michael Campbell and his struggle against Robert Mugabe’s regime and violent "Land Reform" programme; Gas Hole, a new documentary which addresses the history of oil prices and the future of alternative fuels; and I.O.U.S.A, which is a prime example of how ‘when the USA coughs, the entire wold catches a cold’, since it portrays how the entire world is affected by whatever is affecting the US economy.

Ticket prices are R30 and screenings are daily until the 5th at the Labia on 68 Orange Street in Gardens.

South Africa’s iconic and much revered former President, Nelson Mandela - or Madiba, as he is affectionately known - will be celebrating his 92nd birthday this coming Sunday, 18 July.

Across the nation and the entire world, people will be honouring the former president and 1993 Nobel prize winner by marking the second Nelson Mandela Day. This annual celebration of Madiba’s life is "a global call to action for people to recognise their individual ability to make an imprint and change the world around them."

The best gift to give a man who has dedicated 67 years of his life to public service is to give back to others. Guided by Nelson Mandela’s global HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention charity, the 46664 campaign - named after his Robben Island prison number - people are encouraged to volunteer 67 minutes of their time to community service with the same dedication, selflessness, compassion, generosity and love that were the driving forces behind Madiba’s work. 

The day will be marked throughout the country in different ways, from celebrity cycle rides to road constructions and school renovations in Madiba’s birthplace, the Mvezo Village of the Eastern Cape. For this year’s celebrations, the Nelson Mandela Foundation has teamed up with the South African National Blood Service to inspire citizens to donate blood to help keep a much needed clean blood supply in stock in our AIDS-ravaged country.

If you’re going to be in Cape Town on Sunday, you can always pay tribute by going to Robben Island to visit the small cell where Madiba was held as a political prisoner for a huge part of his 27 year sentence. The ferry departs on Sunday at ten, and online bookings are still available at this website. 

Happy birthday, Madiba! May you enjoy continued love, health and happiness for many years to come!

So there won’t be any more live matches played at Cape Town Stadium, but that doesn’t mean that the Mother City’s 2010 FIFA World Cup celebrations are at an end yet!

Why not squeeze in one last hurrah and join the ongoing party at Cape Town’s FIFA Fan Fest? The venue, which is situated on Cape Town’s Grand Parade, has been positively cooking with a non-stop party atmosphere for the past month, with loads of live performances by an impressive line-up of chart-topping as well as up-and-coming artists.

If you’re not lucky enough to have tickets to the final match in Soweto on Sunday, come join thousands of other fans to watch a live broadcast of the showdown for the ultimate prize. The final match between Spain and the Netherlands will be shown on the enormous 74sqm screen at the Fan Fest. That screen, which is one of the biggest structures of that kind to have ever been erected in South Africa is the same one that was also first used by FIFA during the World Cup in Germany four years ago.

If you’re not watching the performances or the match, wander the various stalls and kiosks where you’ll be able to buy nourishment  as well as crafts and various other soccer-related memorabilia. So if you don’t have a vuvuzela yet… rectify the situation!

Best of all, entrance to the Fan Fest is totally FREE. But the experience of being there is so priceless that it will stay in your memory for a long time after the final whistle has sounded.

Cape Town’s FIFA Fan Fest at the Grand Parade is located on the city’s Grand Parade on Darling Street and Corporation Road. Open from 11:00 in the mornings until 11 at night.

Alternatively, you can always hoof it down Cape Town’s Fan Walk one last time… 

On Saturday, 3 July, tens of thousands of soccer fans are expected to take the Fan Walk route to make their way to Cape Town Stadium for the Argentina vs Germany match.

Ever since the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa three weeks ago, the Mother City’s Fan Walk has proven to be a huge success among both ticket holders and non-ticket holders alike, with the latter often just joining in the fun to soak up the atmosphere and drink in the general spirit of pre-match excitement.

The Fan Walk route starts at Exchange Place on St George’s Mall (across Cape Town Station) and runs along Waterkant Street, over Buitendacht Street, onto St Andrews Square and lastly along Somerset Road and Main Road, Green Point, before reaching the Stadium precinct. There are plenty of kiosks and street-side entertainment along the way.

With good weather predicted for the weekend, capacity crowds are expected on Saturday - even more than the record-breaking 72 000 visitors that descended upon Fan Walk on the day of the Cameroon vs Netherlands match - and activities will commence four hours before kick-off and last for a few hours after the final whistle has blown.

Those not lucky enough to have tickets to the match can always attend the screening for free at the Cape Town FIFA Fan Fest located at the city’s Grand Parade. South African band Freshlyground will be among the live entertainment acts featured at the Fan Fest on Saturday. When not watching the game, attendees can browse the many arts and crafts stalls and other vendors.

With mere days to go before the 2010 FIFA World Cup kicks off in South Africa, excitement is already at a feverpitch among young and old alike.

In keeping with the football fever gripping the nation, a local attraction has some fantastic soccer-themed activities lined up especially for younger enthusiasts.

Don’t have tickets to watch any of the FIFA matches yet? Some strings will be pulled which will allow you the opportunity to at least catch some soccer action at Noordhoek Farm Village tomorrow (Saturday 5 June 2010).

The puppets of Noordhoek will get younger soccer fans in the spirit by putting on their own exciting tournament at the Noordhoek Farm Village’s bandstand.

The soccer theme will continue throughout the month with other soccer-related activities planned for every Saturday until 19 June. On 12 June, kids are invited to attend the flag craft day where they will get to show off their creative side by using the flags of all those nations competing in the World Cup and making amazing things out of it.

On 19 June, professional facilitators will bring their expertise to a mini soccer tournament to be held at Noordhoek Farm Village. All young players are invited to participate and compete for some cool prizes.

Noordhoek Farm Village is located at the corner of Chapmans Peak Road and Village Lane in Noordhoek. All activities on the particular Saturdays will take place from 10h30 to 12h30. For more information, visit the Noordhoek Farm Village website.