Top 7 South African Festivals & Special Events

There are many reasons to visit South Africa, but including a festival or sporting spectacle in your travel plans is an exciting way to experience even more culture in the rainbow nation. It’s a fantastic way to immerse yourself in time-honoured traditions, meet and mingle (or even compete!) with the locals while discovering why South Africa is an up-and-coming culinary destination. Below are a few of the largest and most established festivals and events that you can work into your next trip to South Africa!

Cape Town International Jazz Festival

The Cape Town International Jazz Festival is a musical extravaganza that the Mother City—and the rest of the country—looks forward to all year: a showcase of international and local jazz talent that attracts tens of thousands to this stunning coastal city. Billed as “Africa’s grandest gathering,” the Cape Town International Jazz Festival is on par with the likes of Switzerland’s Montreaux Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland.

Since its inception in 2000, the festival has grown from strength to strength. Every year, dozens of international and local acts, equally split between African and overseas artists, grace the stage, performing some of the world’s best jazz. Dozens of world-renowned jazz musicians and groups gather under the Cape Town International Jazz Festival’s banner to perform on five different stages. Previous festival headliners have included award-winning South African vocalist Abigail Kubeka, America’s Al Foster Quartet, and South Africa’s beloved trumpet legend, Hugh Masekela.

One of the trademarks of this Cape Town music festival is to honour groups displaying longevity as well as young African musicians who are on the cusp of making it big internationally. Over the years, the Cape Town International Jazz Festival has evolved into more than just a musical event.

Cape Argus: The World’s Largest Individually Timed Cycle Race

If you want to see a country, ride a bike. South Africa’s cycling marathons open a world of competitiveness, exquisite scenery, and fun. South Africa has several major cycling events on every serious cyclist's to-do list. The most popular (and most scenic) is the Cape Argus, held every March.

The Cape Argus Cycle Tour is a 68 mi (109 km) rush through Cape Town and its environs, and most of the Mother City’s residents turn out to watch 35,000-odd cycling enthusiasts go by in a

glorious multi-coloured light-weight Lycra wave. It got its name from its first sponsorship, the Cape Argus newspaper, and takes place on the second Sunday in March each year.

In cycle-mad South Africa, on any given Sunday, you will encounter packs of riders in the city streets or out in the country, indulging their passion for two wheels and a tailwind. The fact that the weather is mostly glorious is a bonus, but you’ll find them out peddling in all conditions. The advantage to South African cycling races is you’ve got all the natural wilderness and road quality needed, matched with a growing cycling culture that goes far beyond a Sunday afternoon spin in the park. The Cape Argus Cycle race is the world’s largest individually timed cycle race.

The Two Oceans Marathon: The World’s Most Scenic Marathon

The Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon has earned a reputation as the world’s most beautiful and scenic marathon. In 1970, the inaugural race featured 26 runners confronting the unknown challenge of a breathtaking route traversing both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Since then, the race has become a national institution and a firm favourite with local, upcountry, and international athletes.

Runners can choose from the Two Oceans 35 mi (56 km) ultra-marathon or the 13 mi (21 km) half-marathon against the spectacular backdrop of the iconic Table Mountain, pristine coastal views, and the scenic landscapes of the Cape Peninsula. The Two Oceans is aptly named after the Pacific and Indian Oceans, where you run from one to the other.

Another reason to visit the beautiful city of Cape Town is that it is consistently voted as one of the top cities in the world. Why not visit this beautiful city when it’s full of fit and fast-running fanatics?

The Pink Loerie Mardi Gras

The glitzy, gorgeous and glamorous don their wings and feather boas and flutter down to Knysna in early May each year for the Pink Loerie Mardi Gras. The Pink Loerie Mardi Gras is one of the highlights on South Africa’s gay and lesbian events calendar and the only carnival of its kind in Africa.

A cavalcade of entertainment will keep the party pumping throughout the festival. There’s bound to be something to match your shade of pink, be it hot fuchsia or just a little puce! Fine art, wine, dining, and the finest musicians and DJs are all part of the Pink Loerie Mardi Gras experience!

Among the many highlights of Knysna’s gay festival is the Mardi Gras Street Parade. The Pink Loerie Mardi Gras has its serious side, too. It was started, in part, to create awareness about HIV/Aids as well as to foster an understanding of gay and lesbian issues. The festival has been a fantastic success, nurturing acceptance and spreading awareness locally and throughout Southern Africa. To these goals, the Mardi Gras will offer free HIV testing and counselling during the festival. The Pink Loerie Mardi Gras is the first and only Mardi Gras festival on the African continent. It is also one of the biggest parties in the country.

Experience the Sardine Run: The Greatest Shoal on Earth

Around June each year, word gets out along the KwaZulu-Natal coast that the sardines have arrived. They’ve swum over 30 days from their spawning ground in the Cape to reach South Africa’s east coast. Scores of fishermen join the sharks, game fish, marine mammals and birds that gorge themselves on the shimmering band of silverfish.

Sardine-run shoals are usually 9 mi (15 km) long, 2.5 mi (4 km) wide and approximately 131 ft (40 m) deep. The reason why large shoals of sardines swim to the KwaZulu-Natal coast during winter months remains a mystery. Yet each year, it’s the same: starting in May, millions of small shiny fish make the one-way journey from the cold waters of the Cape to the warmer tides of KwaZulu-Natal, colouring the shoreline silver as they convene close to the coast.

By the end of July, they disappear just as suddenly as they arrived, vanishing into the great blue beyond. Like whale watching in Hermanus or travelling to Namaqualand to see the wildflowers in bloom, South Africa’s famed sardine run is a seasonal peculiarity popular among local and international visitors. It’s a phenomenon certainly worth watching from land, the ocean surface, or underwater.

The sardine shoals typically are massive and can stretch kilometres along the coast and following the shoal—above and below water—is a caravan of predators in feeding-frenzy mode. Schools of sharks, such as the bronze whaler (or copper shark), dusky and blacktip shark, follow the shimmering path of prey, feasting on the fish. Marine mammals and game fish follow in hot pursuit. Cape fur seals, humpback and minke whales, and thousands of dolphins are joined by shoals of shad, Garrick and geelbek (a type of kob) as they dive, snap and feed on what appears to be an unlimited supply of sardines.

Dolphins employ a tactical hunting strategy by herding part of the sardine shoal into densely packed groups, termed bait balls. Working together underwater, the dolphins drive the bait ball toward the surface, whirling, twisting, and swimming below the shoal. As the sardines move closer to the surface, birds plummet out of the sky to pillage from above. Cape gannets, cormorants, terns, and gulls dive-bomb the coast in an unrelenting aerial assault.

Game fishermen and local sardine lovers wade into the water and secure their share in areas where the sardines swim very close to the coast. This is a marine spectacle at its best—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view creatures of the earth, sky and water taking part in one of nature’s unexplained mysteries. Opportunities abound for those looking to observe the great sardine-run phenomenon, whether from the coast, from the deck of a boat, underwater or with a snorkel.

Knysna Oyster Festival

The Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival is a 10-day event for foodies, sports lovers, and families. Held every July, it is a celebration of all things oyster! Oyster eating, oyster shucking, oyster farm tours, oyster recipe challenges and gourmet oyster-themed dinners happen throughout the festival, along with wine and champagne tastings.

The oyster festival attracts over 70,000 visitors annually, particularly food lovers who slurp and swallow their way through more than 200,000 oysters at over 20 dedicated oyster venues, where the delectable molluscs are eaten au naturel or cooked in a variety of ways.

Besides oysters, the festival hosts two top-notch competitive sporting events: the Pick n Pay Weekend Argus Rotary Cycle Tour and the Pick n Pay Cape Times Knysna Marathon. Both are booked up months in advance due to their popularity.

The Oyster Festival has a packed and varied programme of adventure, sports, and culture for the whole family. It includes everything from paddling, golf, bowls, soccer, angling and mountain biking to music concerts, theatre shows, craft workshops, cooking demonstrations and even bridge contests. If you're planning to visit the garden route, Knysna is the perfect place to base yourself.

Hermanus Whale Festival

The Hermanus Whale Festival, held every September, is a must-add to your bucket list if you're passionate about the environment and its magnificent inhabitants. The festival's main focus concerns the environmental issues affecting humans and whales alike, with events about climate change and eco-living, among other festivities. You’ll find live music, theatre, and comedy shows, and exciting events like cage diving, surfing, kayaking, and whale watching.

The Hermanus Whale Festival, the only Enviro-Arts festival in South Africa, celebrates the return of the Southern Right whales to the waters of Walker Bay, the magnificent environment, arts, wines, and the arrival of Spring!

Hermanus is considered one of the best places in the world for whale watching from land. Thousands flock to this seaside resort, where you'll revel in the natural environment and watch as the Whales return to their breeding ground. Other things to enjoy include live music, cabaret, and the sound of African rhythms every evening throughout the festival. The Whales, of course, are the star attractions of the festival. But you come together with the musicians, celebrities, and many others to celebrate this beautiful environment and these magnificent animals.